Rewind 1
by Ezan
Summary: COMPLETE, YAOI AU NOVEL LENGTH.malik x bakura, serenity x Ryou. Year 2650. In a world of scientific proliferation, a group of respected scientists become getaway outcasts when an experiment goes awry. They plot they are entangled in, however, is much dark
1. Operation Rewind 1

Rewind I

Year 2650. Humans have managed to colonise other planets. Now only refugees and poor have remained on Earth. Just like all decent citizens who had managed to gain a certain economic stability, Serenity Wheeler and her mother had left the mother-planet.

It had been five years since they left Earth and went to Mercury. Not Mercury of our familiar solar system, of course. This was another Mercury, a Mercury of a galaxy recently discovered by Navigators.

Now, at eighteen years of age, Serenity had managed to become what her mother always wanted: a successful, intelligent and beautiful young woman. Serenity's mother and father had divorced many years ago, when her father was caught shoplifting a store while waving a laser pistol around and threatening a porky, rich lady. He had been drunk, of course, but it had been the last straw for Serenity's organised, comfort-loving mother.

They used to live on Earth. A family of four: mother, father, Serenity and her big brother, Joey. They used to be very poor, starving really. Their parents had their love and that was what really kept them going. Life in a Tokyo overcome with hovercrafts and living machines was not easy and Serenity's dad often had to slave away at work for more than 16 hours.

Joey would always help, of course.

Though the technology of the 25th century would probably suggest it was also developed in every other factor of life, that was hardly the case. Families were clearly patriarchal...the "man is the pillar and strength of the house" and all.

Thus, Joey and their father would constantly work in the "Catacombs". The Catacombs were huge multi-corporations that controlled basically all spaceship crafting. A huge catch, obviously. All companies had actually merged into a huge giant enterprise which controlled everything: MultiCorp, and its Catacombs.

The council of the owners were living safely in their mansions in Mars or Venus while poor people who couldn't afford migration would torture themselves in depths of the Catacombs.

All workers had to be ready for work promptly at 4 a.m. In excruciatingly high temperatures where the very air they breathed could burn their lungs, the workers had to create series of spaceship parts. How? Why that's the easy part! They used Hyper-hands. With a specific surgery which was provided to the workers for free, special parts of nanotechnology would be installed inside the peoples' forearms. The sly metal would work its way from one cell to the other, ultimately leading to the skin. Soon, the workers' arms would turn a sickening green colour. Metal spikes would slit their skin and protrude from their fingertips and their elbows.

But what was the purpose of this? The green metal substance that covered the arms was magnetic to the substance which was used to create spaceships. Once they lured the metal with their magnetic arms, and made sure not a spec of steel was lost, they would use their protruding metallic "claws" to mingle with chips and contraptions and ultimately create the ship.

Blood would drip down their arms every time they did this so an innovative method of syringes was developed: hit one every thirty minutes and your blood will stay warm. If you don't it will freeze and you will die instantly, unable to stand the high temperatures of the Catacombs.

Pretty civilised, huh? Serenity was disgusted every time Joey and her father would return home. She loved them both dearly, even after her father started to take various drugs, unable to manage the pain of hyper-arms.

"That's why you have to do the surgery when you're really young!" Joey would boast "that way, you will suffer the least!"

Serenity watched him talk excitedly about the surgery he had had when he was only eleven. He couldn't fool her, though. Serenity could read her brother like a book. He might have been boasting around about his lucky state but he was really screaming for help. The gory monstrosity that had once been his lean, boyish arms was reduced to a beastly, alien creation.

Once, she had caught him trying to pry his elbow "thorns" off but merely managing to scratch himself further with the other spikes. She had rushed for help but he had pushed her away, afraid he would hurt her too. Poor Joey. Poor, poor boy. He had never wanted any of this. He had honestly confessed to his sister...he wanted to become and artist when he grew up.

"You know! Like one of those who make virtual realities for little kids in Venus!" he exclaimed "I have this totally cool idea! Imagine this world where everybody is dressed like, Ancient American! So imagine they had card decks from which duel monsters would pop out! They'd duel all the time! I' ve thought up some cool characters too! What do you think Seren? Do you like it?"

Serenity had nodded whole-heatedly but their father's reaction to Joey's dreams was different...

"Pff.." he had snorted in his drunken state "When will you learn, boy? Dreams aren't for people like us! Dreams aren't for you! I think I've delayed this long enough..."

Silent trepidation had followed.

"Delayed what, daddy?" Serenity had innocently asked.

"Your hand surgery. I'll arrange an appointment with the experts for tomorrow. You'll learn your purpose in life, son. This will do you real good: you'll finally find out that dreams are for rookies..."

Nothing was the same after that. Joey had fallen into depression as had their mother. Serenity tried to keep a cheerful facade, but she would always end up crying herself to sleep at night.

Joey had steadily been regaining his optimistic manner thanks to a friend of his: Tristan. He worked in the catacombs, along with other poor souls. Joey had found some competition and was naturally drawn to it as a moth to the flame. Their supervisor, Mai Valentine had been giving Joey a hard time with witty remarks.

Overall, Joey had managed to learn how to boast about the most tragic things. He was proud of the freaky refugee he had become. He was the "Slaviest of all slaves" and he was proud of it.

At least he tried to be.

Things had been a downfall thereafter. Their father would drink more often and take excessive medication. Their mother had started to hate him for what he had done to their son. Joey had no choice but to turn into a street-kid, trying to keep his father from being caught by the authorities.

The shoplifting incident had been the end of the line.

"We're leaving! Serenity!" her mother had shouted as she grabbed the young girl's arm in a painful grip.

"Mamma…No! Wait! What about Joey? What are we doing?" Serenity's fearful eyes watched in a terrified manner as her attractive and composed mother turned around and spat menacingly at their home's doorstep.

"Your father's dead to me and so is his son. Let's go now, child."

Serenity couldn't believe it. She was shrieking for help, breaking down in tears, fighting her mother's painful grasp, but to no avail.

"JOEY!! JOEY NO!" she had desperately screamed.

"FORGET HIM!! YOU HAV A FUTURE, HE DOESN'T!!" her mother had barked.

"At least let me write a note!! Something! "Serenity had cried.

"The dead don't read! Come, child!" the hardened, harsh voice had shouted.

Serenity had cried then and she would still cry now, in her comfy home in Mercury. They had managed to gain this apartment by selling all they had, including things they stolen on the way there and her mother's body.

Her mother would never let anything happen to her, though, and that was what disgusted Serenity the most. While Joey was slaving away, possibly dying at Earth's Catacombs, Serenity's hands were soft and clean, untouched and not even calloused.

"You're my little girl." her mother would say, trying to justify her actions "you will become great and make a life for yourself. You will succeed where I have failed! Don't you see that is worth anything? Even when I sold my body for you, it was worth it! Even when we left...Earth...We did it for you! For _your_ future!"

Serenity would still cry herself to sleep. Her mother had the best intentions, she knew. She wasn't an evil woman and she had nothing to gain of this whole situation. She was simply trying to erase her own mistakes through Serenity. Thus, Serenity had had no bad experiences, no hardened hands, and no cruel memories.

The names of Joey or her father had never been spoken since that fateful eve. Serenity didn't know if her brother was alive or dead anymore. She hadn't been able to contact him. She could only hope he understood she had never wished to leave him. Hell, she hoped he knew she was alive!

'Joey must be about twenty years old now...Oh my God...He was fifteen when I left, and I was thirteen. Is dad alive? How are Tristan and Mai and everybody?'

And so on and so forth. This was how every day and every night of Serenity's torturous reality went by. She had finished high school with excellent grades and had attended higher education. Now trained to be a bio-scientist, young Serenity Wheeler had attained her first job.

She had vowed to herself she would return to Earth one day. She would return to Earth and pull her brother away from the Catacombs. Away from the Hyper-arms. Away from the dungeons in which he lived in. She would help him. She would help him fulfil his childhood dreams. Soon, the whole world would speak of "duel monsters" and how they will change the world. No child will like other virtual realities like "Dragonball Z" or "Sailor moon". Only Joey's games!!!

Soon, before Joey would close his twenty-third year of age the whole world would be speaking of the wondrous "duel monsters" and… what was that kid's name again, the main character... Oh yes!

"Yu-gi-oh"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serenity pressed the red little button on the wall of her new apartment. She was still psyched about finally escaping her mother's overprotective grasp. She was free, finally! Finally able to face the world with a new job, a new house, and a new hairdo!

Oh yes! That's what the red button was.

"Simply sit on your couch and press the red button. The new "Home-coiffeur for all uses" will immediately come up with an immaculate hairstyle!" the ad had said.

So Serenity was perched on her couch as she squeezed the red button. Almost immediately, a hat-like mechanic contraption had thundered on her hair and enveloped her skull. It started buzzing and making weird noises. Serenity could feel her hair be pulled and combed. In three minutes exactly, the buzzing stopped and she was left to blink dumbly as she felt the mechanism lift off her head.

She walked into the bathroom, already wearing an elegant blood-red suit. She looked like a "space-hostess" for god's sake!!! Her jaw fell open as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her waist-long hair had been pulled up and twisted in an elegant bun. Stray long bangs were purposely popping out of the bun. At this point her thoughts flowed to her lost brother again.

'I'm sitting here with my new hairdo, like a well-fed chicken, while my brother is trying to stay alive in that hellhole...' she watched her reflection's eyes swell with more unshed tears. 'If Joey saw me in the street he'd think I'm some sort of alien super-spazz…'

'Which I am.'

She quickly forced herself to exit the apartment in order to keep the tears from falling. "Terminate" she commanded dryly as all electronic mechanisms in her house shut down. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The double blue suns of Mercury greeted her. She closed the door. "Secure lock" she commanded and looked around.

Blue sunshine glowed everywhere. Dozens of hovercrafts floated around the tops of skyscrapers. She couldn't see the planet's ground. That was where Mercury's Catacombs were located: in the ground, near the planet's core, were it was hotter and easier to work with metal.

Serenity gulped. Joey...Brother...he was still in Earth's Catacombs. The worst Catacombs in the universe!!!

Guilt was killing her. She could only see the clouds and sky scrapers. She seriously considered jumping off the building balcony. It was thousands of miles above the ground anyway.

But no. She had work to do. She had to save her family. "Hold on brother, I'm not letting go yet. I'm coming, brother..." she desperately thought "I'm coming to get you."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaiba Corp was a huge enterprise. Curiously it didn't deal with technology. It had to do with medical experimentations. It was thanks to these bastards that Hyper-arms had been invented. It was thanks to them that the whole of humanity was now suffering from diseases never known before.

The man who ran Kaiba Corp was just as ruthless and cruel as Serenity had imagined him. Seto Kaiba was an extremely arrogant, conceited and overall disgusting creature. He would do anything to be the saviour of the day. Anything.

There were rumours he had actually developed lethal diseases like _cinceri_ in secret labs so that only Kaiba Corp would have the cure and thus sell more. The key notice in this situation was: "Seto Kaiba. Our saviour! This time, the genius has come up with the cure for _canceri_!!"

Serenity hated him with every fibre of her body! Astonishing, really- to think she actually worked for the man! Yes this was her first and only job: the right hand man...well, woman of Seto Kaiba himself. After all, she was the best bio-chemist of her kind. Kaiba had offered a terrifying amount of money in order to get Serenity. It was time for her to prove her worth!

Was Kaiba actually a genius? Serenity had met him in her job interview and she had one overall comment: tragic. THE MAN WAS TRAGIC. He had no interests whatsoever. Either he would speak of business and how he was the most powerful, terrifying and ingenious man in all the galaxies, or he would take phone calls and curse his head off.

Boring. Completely boring. Why was she doing this again? Oh yes! Joey. She'd get him out of there if it was the last thing she ever did.

So this was day one for Serenity Wheeler. And she had obviously chosen one hell of an interesting moment to join the company, too.

"I have discovered something that will possibly change life forever! I will be their Hero...hahaha! This is one hell of an operation, Ms Wheeler, and you will be in charge of it! You won't believe what I have to show you! Just be here at my desk on Monday, nine a.m. prompt. Oh, and Ms Wheeler! Don't be late."

That's what her new boss had said in a crazed tone, his washed-off cerulean eyes sparkling in silent arrogant mirth. Serenity hated him.

Here she was, finally entering the grand gates of the third hundredth floor of Kaiba Corp. She stepped away from the hovercraft and greeted a few colleagues. They all hardly knew her, since she was introduced to them briefly on Friday night. They all eyed her up and down with an apprehensive look. She could almost read their minds 'so she's the boss's favourite now, huh? Let's see how long she lasts.'

She smiled sweetly at everyone, men and women alike. She soon reached Kaiba's office's door.

"Good morning Ms Wheeler. He will see you now," the blond secretary said in a sugary tone. 'Yuk! 'Serenity thought 'All these people actually believe I come from some luxurious home in Venus, that's why they treat me so politely...How amusing! To think I come from the Catacombs of EARTH!' Serenity snickered mentally though she seemingly smiled back at the cute blond girl.

She walked in Kaiba's office and the door closed automatically behind her, startling her a bit.

"Jumpy aren't we?" Kaiba's sly voice inquired from behind his armchair. He had turned its back to her so she couldn't see his face, but she could almost feel the smirk on his face.

"Maybe I would be more relaxed if you told me what this whole 'surprise' ordeal is about, sir." Serenity said in a soft tone.

Kaiba chuckled and swiftly turned his armchair so to face her. As suspected, a smirk was plastered on his face,

"I like you Ms Wheeler. Soft and sly but never beating around the bush..." he chuckled again as he observed Serenity from head to top.

She squirmed at his intent gaze. Yet ANOTHER thing she hated about this guy: he thought he was so incredibly hot and irresistible when he was really only a simple person. She didn't know how to take his compliment about her straightforward manner so she settled on an innocent, sweet grin.

"You're not from around here are you?" Kaiba inquired. Serenity's eyes widened in surprise. Well it seems he wasn't as slow as she had originally thought. "You're much too hard-cored to be from around here." He stated rigidly and raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.

Serenity was getting tired of smiling sweetly. "It's true sir." she said but decided against telling him about her actual origins. People around here were prejudiced against Earth, after all. "I come from a little province of Mars. First Solar system...near Earth...you know?"

"Ah..." murmured Kaiba restlessly. It seemed he was in a particularly un-grouchy mode, which was a bit strange for him. He lazily stood up and pushed the armchair away. He stepped in front of Serenity and stood tall before her, eyeing her warily yet again. She was starting to get agitated. 'What, is he expecting me to start drooling or something?' She just kept smiling, however. It would be out of character for Serenity to do anything else, actually. She was the quiet type. Silent and composed.

"Figures you were from somewhere near Earth..."Kaiba murmured lightly "Mars is the first colony...Ancient really...Only people from Earth have your spirit...Ancient, really…' he repeated.

He then walked past her and to the doors. They parted and he signalled for her to follow. She blinked and snickered in her mind, as she followed him down the corridor and past the secretary.

"He thinks Mars is Ancient...Ha! If only he knew...where I REALLY come from…" Serenity mused in tragic irony...'My brother is still suffering...' she thought bitterly but quickly snapped out of her thoughts by Kaiba's new words.

"We'll follow the path to the secret laboratories...You DO realise that this is top secret of course..." he said in a precarious tone, and continued "...because if you don't you will probably become a new specimen for my scientists. It would be quite a loss, wouldn't it, Ms Wheeler?"

Something in his tone made Serenity think he was not at all joking. The combination of humourless chatting that followed made her want to gag. Meanwhile, Serenity was disgusted by the looks that other female workers threw towards Kaiba's direction.

Did they seriously think he was all that? Kaiba had a great body, Serenity knew that. His impressive height and strong manly features could be considered attractive. His frosty cobalt-blue eyes were always fixed on a stubborn scowl and his face was framed by thick chestnut hair. Serenity guessed he was all modern girls could dream of: devoted, silent, stubborn and shaped up...a perfect match for a carefree girl. But Serenity wasn't carefree, thus, his charms never worked on her.

Kaiba, on the other hand, was having different thoughts. He realised all too well that the new girl wasn't very fond of him, but she was a good scientist and that was enough. Besides, the fact that -unlike most other females- she had a personality, helped in work.

He eyed the girl with the corner of his scowling, icy blue eye. She had an immaculate slim figure which moved rhythmically with every elegant, ethereal step. She was wearing a sparkling, red suit like all other important council members of Kaiba Corp and the loose auburn bangs that escaped her bun swayed with each move. Amber innocent eyes observed the world around her. Yet, there was something hidden in those eyes...old pain...that was the best explanation he could muster.

He shook his head, disinterestedly, focusing on leading the way to the labs. Who cared about Wheeler anyway? He only needed her for a specific reason…

Serenity followed silently from behind. They were going down automatic stairs and she could only stare into the glass covered labs, were cloning and DNA mutations took place. Screeches were often heard but Serenity never got the chance to actually SEE something totally gory. Whether that was to be considered fortunate or unfortunate, she didn't know.

She was so absorbed in observing her surroundings that she hardly realised Kaiba had stopped in front of her. She almost bumped into him but managed to pause in the last minute. Luckily he didn't notice. Distant voices were heard and soon Serenity noticed two figures approaching. With a closer observation she recognised a chubby doctor she had recently met and another -rather cranky- old doctor she couldn't recognise.

Once the two doctors noticed her with their boss they immediately rushed to them. They stopped in front of Kaiba and greeted him politely -though the cranky guy had a grouchy tone.

Kaiba proceeded to make acquaintances.

"This is Serenity Wheeler. She is my new personal helper; a prodigious scientist I assure you." Kaiba paused "She comes from Mars."

Serenity silently seethed at the way Kaiba addressed her as "his personal helper". That didn't sound very decent for some reason. Why did he tell them about her origins, anyway? And why had his tone been so…mocking when he'd said it?

Miraculously, she kept a sugary grin on.

"Ms Wheeler, meet Doctor Ayano Akira" Kaiba pointed at the chubby guy who bowed respectfully in front of Serenity "and Dr Suzuki Ichiro". The cranky guy snorted gruffly and extended a handshake.

Serenity had no objections. She obliged to Dr Suzuki's handshake and was thoroughly surprised when the man glared at Kaiba and said. "This woman can't be coming from the lower classes of Mars. Her hand is as soft as peanut butter!" Kaiba stared back at the man with absolute mirth drawn across his face. Serenity was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Trust me old friend" Kaiba said quizzically "She does come from near Earth..."

Suzuki huffed loudly and released Serenity's hand. She pulled it back warily.

Dr Ayano was the one who broke the ice "Nevertheless...it would prove extremely useful for this operation if she were really from Mars..." he said lightly.

"Indeed..." Suzuki muttered with a suspicious glare towards Serenity. She was annoyed by him already. Smile in place, she gently asked "Why do you say that?"

"You shall soon find out my dear. Now come...We'll take you to the lab" Ayano said cheerfully.

Serenity was in inner turmoil. She was actually fighting to keep those sneering 'my dear' comments from getting to her.

Now, the three of them had resumed walking down the glass corridors. Serenity visibly flinched at the screeching sounds coming from various laboratories. The cranky old guy, Dr Suzuki, who was walking next to her , snickered lightly. "Don't worry, Ma'am...It might be annoying in the beginning but you soon get used to the screaming..."

Serenity gulped in discomfort. 'That's what I'm worried about...that I might actually have to get used to it. We never did this kind of thing In the Academy…'

Suddenly, the voice of the porky Dr Ayano from the front was heard.

"Dr Wheeler...The time for your enlightenment has come...A few years ago, while Kaiba Corp's special scouts were sent to a quest to the aloof planet of _Anoti_, they discovered something most interesting..."

Kaiba, who was currently walking next to Ayano, seemed overexcited and not at all interested at what the other man was saying. Serenity, on the other hand, was listening intently. Where was this leading?

"...There is a plant that grows only on that planet…_Anoti_...It emits a bright cyan glow and is very easy to spot amongst other plants...This plant, which is called _Nectra_, has the ability to release a special liquid when moonlight falls on it. That is...moonlight of the _Anoti_ planet, only. Thus, during _Anoti_ nights, the _Nectra_ plants release a special liquid...Now brace yourself, because this is important: when one of our oldest, forty year-old scouts, touched the _Nectra_ with his hand...guess what happened?"

Serenity stared impatiently. She shook her head indicating ignorance.

"His hand got exactly ten years younger."

"What?" Serenity asked incredulously. Suzuki smirked and Ayano smiled. "Are you sure?" Serenity continued.

"Positive! We actually ran tests on it! Not only did it look younger, it was like his hand had been created EXACTLY ten years ago...Do you realise what we are saying, here, Dr Wheeler? The man touched the liquid with his finger, and his hand turned ten years younger!"

Serenity was staring at the back of his head. The screams of the surrounding labs were momentarily forgotten. She was transfixed. "Where are you getting at, Dr Ayano?" she asked warily.

She could sense the man's smile though unable to see it. "If a mere touch turned his hand ten years younger, imagine what would happen if we actually hoisted ten litres of the liquid directly into the veins of a one-hundred year-old human!?"

Serenity's blood froze. Suddenly she was sure that all the gory rumours about Kaiba Corp's ruthless methods were true. They were willing to overload somebody with a substance of the sort? They were actually about to have an unauthorised test on a human being, without having at least used a guinea pig before??!!

"What if the substance kills them? This is very dangerous!" she said tensely.

At this remark Suzuki snorted and Kaiba seemed to mildly awaken from his disinterested silence. Ayano didn't miss a beat though.

"Not to worry..." he retorted "it has been verified that the liquid is non-toxic. The proteins inside it do not react negatively with human blood and better yet...the changes are permanent...we are talking about a literal ELIXIR OF LIFE. There are no possibilities for the subject to be killed. There are only two possibilities: for it to work and for it not to work. In the first case, the person turns approximately...say...10 litres...hmm....approximately ninety years younger, while in the second possibility...the subject is simply over-stuffed with a green liquid and he has diarrhoea for the next fifteen days!!"

Kaiba smirked and so did Suzuki. For some reason, Serenity wasn't at all placated by Ayano's words…Something in Kaiba's smirk alarmed her very much. Serenity glanced at Kaiba. "Is this legal?" she inquired, trying not to sound reprimanding.

She never got the answer she wanted from Kaiba, though, as it was Suzuki who answered.

"Actually, you wouldn't believe it Ma'am, but...yes it is. I have a contact in the government- you know, a friend. We're actually doing them a favour, experimenting on that scum!"

"Are you serious?" Serenity incredulously asked, her composed goody-two-shoes attitude long gone. "The government actually approved?"

"Believe it or not, they did!" Ayano continued his colleague's explanations "Mr. Kaiba here was only too lucky to come by the story in the _Ultimanet _news)...It seems that in the end of the 21st century, when humans hadn't colonised other planets yet, the average lifetime of a Japanese person lasted about...hmm...80 years of age? Well, natural lifetime combined with a healthy, diet and voila!! We have our one-hundred and twenty year old specimen!!"

Serenity gaped incredulously "O-One hundred and t-twenty years old, you say?"

"Precisely! Actually, the guy was schizophrenic. He was a thief...you know, a common robber! He used to steal from those ancient department stores in the 21st century...He was so schizophrenic that he surrendered to the police in the end! They kept him in a special cell in New York. The guy was Japanese and preferred sushi and stuff...Then he turned into a complete vegetarian. He made it through 120 years! The scientists were afraid this prodigy would die before they got a chance to study his causes for living so long!! Guess what they did?"

"...they 'froze' him." Suzuki continued in an amused tone. "They put him into a cryogenic capsule so he wouldn't die. We can bring him back anytime! The government were getting tired of the load...You know, having to find a way to transfer an ancient body from one planet to another isn't that easy. They were delighted when Kaiba Corp offered to buy it."

"We actually bought it? They bought the frozen body?" Serenity inquired in disbelief "But the guy will probably die the moment we un-freeze him!"

"That was the problem until now! But it won't be, if our new _Nectra_ Elixir works!' Ayano revelled.

Serenity was still quite suspicious about this deal. "But, Doctor..." she said, regaining some of her former politeness "You said the man was schizophrenic! What if he still is? What If we bring a psychopath back to life?"

"Not to worry, my dear..." Ayano said happily as his steady trudge started to slow, along with Kaiba's "We just want to see of if our youth-potion works...After all, this is just an experiment."

'On a human being...' Serenity sulked but thought better of saying anything. She still felt very uneasy about this deal, however.

The company of four turned right and reached a big steel door. The corridor's walls were made of glass and Serenity started to register that they weren't surrounded by labs anymore. There was just darkness. Pitch black all around, save for the small lights on the sides of the corridor. A corridor floating in darkness. It was kind of creepy, really, and Serenity shivered involuntarily.

The abrupt sound of the steel door opening shook the young woman back to reality. Kaiba walked in first, followed closely by the two Doctors. The sweet scientist entered last, her high red heels clicking softly on the steel floor. It caught Kaiba's attention unexpectedly and he turned towards the girl. He motioned for her to come closer and he Immediately spoke "This is why it'll help if you are from near Earth...Our new guest is an Ancient Japanese guy, after all...maybe you'll help more than we ever could."

Serenity nodded, understanding.

Their surroundings were peculiar. They must have been in very low levels, near the bottom level of the whole Kaiba Corp building…Serenity was surprised to see that they were in a big room with steel, soundproof walls. On the one side of the room was a huge bar of control panels and levers. When Dr Ayano flipped the light switch, everything made more sense. In front of the multi-coloured control panels spread a wide glass surface. It had a view of a huge room, in the middle of which lay alone an electronic chair. Serenity shivered. On closer inspection, it looked as though they were in a lab. She noticed a small door near the corner of the room. It probably led to the platform with the chair.

This was creepy, Serenity decided. She wanted nothing to do with this. She wanted to get out fast and never come back. She eyed the platform with the chair through the glass. It looked like a hall of torture. The chair was electronic and had many levers and buttons sticking out room various places. It had this weird helmet enhanced and Serenity was suddenly reminded of her "Home coiffeur for all uses" only this was creepier and generally more serious.

Tubes were fixed through the chairs cables. The slim tubes glowed shiny cyan. 'That must be the _Nectra_ Ayano was talking about.' Serenity thought 'but how are they planning to feed it to the subject intravenously?'

Her question was soon answered. The tubes ended in pointy syringes, each one looking sharp and painful.

'Oh my God.' Serenity thought, suddenly reminded of her dear brother and the pain he had to endure with his pointy hyper-arms. 'What are we going to do to this man? Joey...forgive me...for hurting someone once more…'

In the chair platform, a single white spotlight illuminated the lonely chair. Catastrophic consequences of the experiment were constantly presenting themselves to the young girl, and she shivered. The doctors seemed occupied enough as they were fiddling with some controls. Kaiba was gazing seriously at nowhere in particular.

"Um...Sir?" Serenity timidly asked, not wanting to disturb him.

Kaiba seemed tired as he rolled his eyes and turned towards her "Yes?" he inquired.

"This...isn't exactly what I expected." she confessed "I thought I would take part in the action..." she lied. She just wanted out of there "I wanted to be able to use the controls and stuff..."

Kaiba grinned. "Don't worry, Ms Wheeler. This operation is much more important than any control. You'll be the one giving the commands! Don't forget that!" Kaiba said.

Serenity smiled a sickeningly sweet, fake smile. "I guess..." she said

"AND HERE THEY COME!!!" the voice of Dr Ayano filled the air.

"Geez...how fun..." Suzuki countered; earning a reprimanding glare from Ayano.

Serenity blinked. "Who..." she had begun saying when loud noises echoed from the dark hallway outside. Instantly, Ayano rushed outside, accompanied grouchily by Suzuki. They seemed to be conversing with someone. Meanwhile, Serenity turned to Kaiba "What's going on?" she inquired curiously. Her anxiety had somehow diminished.

"The lower class scientists are here. They will take care of the control stations. YOU, on the other hand, will take care of the commander position."

"Huh?" Serenity asked in a confused tone.

"Thus, I suggest you go out there and see what is taking them so damn long!!" Kaiba said, glaring. Serenity got the point and strode outside, high heels echoing through the hallway.

What greeted her outside was rather...disturbing. There was Chubby Ayano and grouchy Suzuki, conversing with a young brunette girl and her blonde friend 'This is not the time for flirting!!' Serenity thought. Then she saw yet another thing that caught her eye. Near Suzuki and Ayano stood three or four men conversing casually. One of them, a silent, more observant one was holding a huge...box?

"Oh dear…' Serenity thought

There it was, unmistakable! The cryogenic capsule with the Ancient Japanese thief inside it!! Out of the frozen glass, she could only make out some wrinkled white skin and some snow-white strands of hair. She almost screamed, completely losing her mind. Not even in the Catcombs had she been so scared. It was dark, no one was with her, there were weird people everywhere and there was an ancient, scary-looking psychotic thief about to be revived.... 'shit shit shit...notgoodnotgoodnotgood'

"Hey...are you ok there?"

It was a soft baritone. Serenity turned her attention towards the source of the voice. She met sparkling lilac eyes. It was the quiet boy that had been holding the capsule. Now that Serenity got a clear look at him, she realised he was very handsome.

Thin layers of heavily tanned skin covered his toned muscles, while golden, shiny hair framed his face. He wore earrings that glowed gold even at that minuscule light and a necklace that glimmered with the same material. Black lines of feline kohl design framed his cheekbones.

The boy approached lightly and Serenity's breath caught in her throat. How lightly he walked, with such grace. The white doctors' robe the person wore made incredible contrast to his burnt skin. His smell spread around her and it was absolutely exotic. The most startling thing about him, though, was his tropical eyes, shining with a lavender glow so captivating and tropical that Serenity's skin caught fire.

She could see the heads of all female scientists snap alert as the handsome boy let go of the freezing capsule and approached the girl in red. As the golden haired boy sauntered towards her, she couldn't help but notice his elegance, his immaculate, almost elf-like manner. She watched as all scientist followed the boy with their eyes. It was painfully obvious that it was not only she who had noticed this person's exotic aura.

He finally reached her. He wasn't smiling. Or smirking. Or glaring. Just…looking at her.

"Hey" he said in a full, deep voice "Are you okay? You seemed a little scared back there." he commented.

"I-I'm fine." Serenity responded. She already felt as if those eyes were cutting slits into her forehead. How could they be so intense?

"You must be the new coordinator." the boy added lightly, absent mindedly playing with the top button of his shirt. There were muffled whispers between the other scientists and Serenity could see why. This boy... he almost had a feline touch to him, but it was so elegant and discreet, that no one could deny its charm.

"Yes...I am." Serenity answered with her usual smile. "My name's Serenity Wheeler"

"I'm Marik." the boy said mysteriously "Marik Ishtar..."

Serenity felt familiar with this boy already. She didn't want to raise any suspicions so she didn't make any further questions. Suddenly, footsteps were heard and Kaiba Seto appeared it the lab door.

"Ms Wheeler, when I told you to find out what's taking them so long I didn't suggest you actually get stuck too."

Serenity was dumbfounded. Malik stared at Kaiba quizzically and the CEO instantly stiffened, much to Serenity's surprise. It was true that Marik's gaze was petrifying, but it seemed to have a rough affect on Kaiba particularly.

"I see you have met Mr. Ishtar...well along when you're ready..." he said quietly and disappeared back into the lab. Serenity just stared after him, absolutely confused. Kaiba acting submissive in front of Marik? Since when? That was certainly new. New and interesting, if not downright fascinating.

Serenity turned back to the "crowd" of spectators.

"Hey there, people!" she grinned happily "I'm your new coordinator! We're working on this project together today! My name's Serenity Wheeler and I' m new here, so please bare with me!"

Everyone welcomed her warmly and she felt welcome for a change. The fear of this place was starting to dissipate completely. Marik was still standing next to her and this time he was smiling warmly. It was a wonderful sight, Serenity decided.

"Please tell me your names everyone!" Serenity asked. Soon she found out that the brunette girl was called Rika and her blonde friend was Lena. The three scientists that were conversing before where consecutively called Kenji, Soiji and Taichi. They decided that they would call each other by their first names, for efficiency.

"Okay everyone! Let's get started! Rika and Lena: go inside and take care of the controls. Marik and Soiji: Make sure the frozen dude goes inside. Kenji and Taichi: you people will unfreeze him the moment he gets out of his little capsule. Dr Ayano and Dr Suzuki: make sure you insert the tubes in his body, you're the only people who really know about _Nectra_ anyway...When we are all done meet me here! Go!!!"

Everyone spread to their "battle stations". Serenity strode proudly back into the lab, where Kaiba was impatiently waiting patiently for her, while tapping a foot on the floor. He seemed to be a bit lost in his musings, however. Serenity smiled brightly. Finally, she had a chance to prove she was good at her job!

Rika and Lena came in immediately and started fiddling with the control panels, switching stuff on and off. From the glass, Serenity could see Kenji and Taichi entering the "hall of torture." After Taichi walked in, Marik and his huge, remote-controlled capsule appeared. Soon they could see Soiji holding the "fridge" from the one side and Marik supporting it from the other.

Serenity's eyes wandered to Kaiba and she noticed that he was clearly staring at the blond, tanned boy. It was certainly an annoyed look. 'Weird' thought Serenity. They continued to watch as Soiji carefully opened the capsule. His green eyes widened clearly at what he saw. A moment of trepidation followed as Marik stepped in front of the now open capsule.

The beautiful boy's face paled and he looked as if he was going to be sick for a moment. 'What? It can't be _that_ bad!!' Serenity thought. Marik grasped Soiji's shoulder for support and Soiji seemed to shiver in disgust at what he was seeing.

After recovering from the sock, Marik and Soiji grabbed the body. Serenity almost gagged when she saw it been dragged to the electric chair. It was nearly translucent. The flesh was frozen and stuck to the bone. One or two white bands of hair fell unceremoniously on the person's brow. "THIS is our specimen?" Serenity heard Lena ask her friend. Serenity smiled secretly and giggled "Yup!" she said "and you better get used to it because there will be a lot more of that when _Nectra_ is a success!"

The girls chuckled and Kaiba glanced at Serenity momentarily. "Don't be so sure we'll distribute it after it's a success, Wheeler." he said frigidly.

Serenity gulped unconsciously, as she felt vaguely sick. "Sure, Sir…" she simply replied.

They focused back to the happenings in the other room. With perfect organisation, Taichi and Kenji were using special tabs and patches to unfreeze the body. After ten whole minutes of waiting, the old man's finger twitched.

"I'm reaching a faint heartbeat...He's coming back to life!!" Rika said into her microphone. She was wearing headphones and checking out some controls in front of her. Her voice echoed around the room with the chair. All scientists were gathered around Taichi and Kenji, who were trying to recover the body.

"Keep trying everyone!" Rika hopefully repeated.

Unable to hide her teasing nature and her urge to tease the new boss Serenity sauntered over to Lena's post and leaned into the mike.

"Hey guys, this is Seren. So...Who wants to do CPU? Marik, you in for it?" she watched in absolute mirth as Kaiba's eyes narrowed to glaring slits. He obviously didn't like jokes very much.

Marik glared playfully at the glass. He couldn't see through it, of course, since it was a mirror from the one side and a normal see-through window from the other.

"Already on first-name basis, are we Ms Wheeler? Perhaps it would be prudent to focus less on pointless teasing and more on the job at hand."

Serenity's face fell completely, but she quickly recovered. Having faked happiness with her mother for all this years had been good training.

"Well, I wanted everyone to be on friendlier terms..." she sweetly said "Besides...It worked. They did their job. Look! Sleeping Psycho is waking up!"

Truly, the man seemed to stir. He raised his hand to cover his chest. That's when Serenity first noticed. There was this thing hanging from his neck. It was something metal...no...golden. Shouldn't it have broken with the ice? Miraculous! And to think that his first thought after a slumber of six centuries was about his golden ring. It must mean a lot to him, if he went to "sleep" with it...

Lena and Rika were transfixed. Serenity had to nudge them sharply with her elbow, in order to get them started.

"Good job, people, now plug him in." Lena said into the speaker.

Taichi and Marik carried the half-dead, half-conscious form to the chair, where Doctors Ayano and Suzuki started to pierce his old, tired body with syringes. Serenity felt an enormous amount of pity swell inside her. Though she was an experienced scientist she would always have a problem with syringes. They reminded her of Joey too much.

Kaiba's gaze was completely fixed on the whimpering form now, concentrating so much that Serenity thought he wanted to kill the old man with his eyes. Soft, incoherent sounds kept escaping the old man's lips and Serenity felt goosebumps crawl onto her skin.

Once Ayano and Suzuki were done with their process, Serenity ordered them to get the old man completely ready: levers, buttons, helmet and all. Once they were finished, Lena had told them to walk away. They all gathered inside the lab, staring at the lonely, old figure sitting on the chair, in the sealed room.

Unexpectedly, Serenity felt a twinge of hurt inside her. "May I go see him?" she asked

"Excuse me?" Kaiba asked incredulously.

"I said: May I simply go to him?"

"Whatever for, Ma'am?" Suzuki snapped.

"I just…want to." she said "I am a scientist too, you know." It wasn't her style to abuse her authority, but she really did want to see this man up close.

Marik silently smirked at that, wanting to hear a response from Suzuki. It was Kaiba who answered, however, with an irritated snort.

"Pff...just go...fast."

Serenity gingerly walked to the door that connected the two laboratories. As soon as she walked inside, all sounds from the other room were lost. All she could see was the lonely figure on the chair, with a white cloth covering his privates. Opposite was the mirror. Serenity couldn't see a thing, but she knew that everyone was watching her from inside. She slowly walked up to the figure and bent on her knees in front of him. She felt so sorry for the man. If only she could do something.

Small, pained whimpers wracked his body. He kept his left hand over the golden ring; his long, vampire-like nails clawing at it restlessly. His eyes were shut tight and he was mumbling something.

Serenity was so overwhelmed with compassion, that she didn't know what to do. Suddenly she imagined what it would be like to spend one whole life time, then be forced to lose the eternal rest of death and also be forced to endure a new life, away from your home and friends. This was the case with this guy.

He was lost. A specimen in a great, conflicting governmental deal. What would he say, if he knew he was an experiment? Where was the human side of science now? No where. Now there were only specimens and experiments and obligations.

She watched the restless heaving of the man's chest. The nipples of his chest were nearly non-existent in his wrinkled, withered costume of skin.

Beads of sweat rolled down the ancient man's wrinkled brow, leaving thin, moist trails of rivers on it. Serenity quickly reached in her jacket and took out a handkerchief. She used it to relieve his forehead. The helmet with tubes which was forced on his scull made it tragically obvious that he was in pain.

As the soft, cool material of the cloth ran through his face, the man slowly opened his eyes. Serenity gasped. Of all the things...

His eyes were brown. A deep oak brown. They held so much innocence and purity that the girl almost fainted. He held her gaze weakly.

Those eyes...

They told her stories more ancient than time itself...Only innocence…and pain. How a man with such eyes be a psychopath?

'They don't always come with a cruel face...' a small voice in the back of her head warned, but this was different. This was scary.

His eyes were too pure...Too innocent. They made her want to cry with what Kaiba was about to do to him.

Why wouldn't they let him rest? The man just wanted to rest in peace! Was that too much to ask after a prolonged slow deterioration of SIX CENTURIES?? Serenity understood now. He'd never wished for this to happen to him. He just wanted peace. Final Rest.

Her hand which held the handkerchief was placed in his wrinkled cheek. Slowly, almost hurtfully from old age and all those tubes, the man raised the hand which covered the ring on his chest and covered her own palm. His skin was soft and with a plastic fake feeling- it was the product of old age.

Once more she remembered Joey, and how she felt guilty about the way she had left him.

But this man...Would she be guilty about him too? Would she take his rest and destroy it? What about his new life? What would he be in this world? A spectacle of an exhibition? A specimen? What?

He was an old hag, an ancient man, yet that small innocent touch said it all. 'Thank you...for helping at this time...' he told her with his eyes.

Now she felt even guiltier. He thought she was helping him while she was slowly condemning him. Those startling, forever young innocent eyes beamed at her hazel ones one last time, and then he closed them into temporary rest.

She felt the pang of tears sting her eyes and it took a moment before she realised she was crying. She didn't care anymore. She honestly didn't care.

'Once you're ready, I'll get you out of here...I owe it to my honour...and to Joey...I won't let another person lose his dreams and his life...I promise...I promise I will...' she whispered desperately, clutching on the hand that was still resting above hers on his cheek.

"Wheeler!" a sudden roaring sound was heard 'Figures' she thought 'Kaiba' "Get your pretty rear back here! We haven't got all day!!!"

Serenity got up determinedly and let her hand slip from the ancient's grasp. She left her hanky there, though, just in case he remembered. "I wonder how you look when you're young, big guy..." she whispered "hopefully, I'll find out.

"Serenity!" echoed a deep melodic voice.

She turned towards the door and saw Marik, the tropical angel, stare back at her. She smiled and rushed up to him. Without thinking, she fell in his arms and hugged him, a truly friendly embrace. He stiffened and felt surprised at first but soon gave in and returned the favour, securing his arms around her back

"I know how you feel..." he whispered in her ear solemnly and at this point, she truly believed he did.

"IF YOU TWO ARE DONE NOW I SUGGEST WE GET ON WITH IT!!" Kaiba barked menacingly.

Serenity tried to restrain the urge to snicker loudly.

Marik gently released her and they entered the lab to find a bunch of scientists who were chatting happily and ignorantly, two very impatient Doctors Ayano and Suzuki and a completely irate Kaiba.

Marik was still holding Serenity's hand in his own free will, a thing which made her curiously happy. I t showed how amiable he felt with her. Once the door was closed and completely sealed, Dr Ayano instantly shouted

"Let operation Rewind 1 begin!!"

"Operation Rewind 1? Why the heck did they give it such a corny name?" whispered Serenity to Marik.

Marik glanced back, amused "It's because supposedly time is 'Rewinded' and the subject becomes younger..." he explained.

"Ooooohh…now I get It" Serenity thought for a moment "it still sounds corny to me..."

They both snickered quietly "It's because the boss invented the name..." Marik added while trying to look sober.

"Poor Kaiba..." Serenity whispered "He thinks if he tries being smart, he'll get more fans!"

"But whatever are you talking about Seren?' Marik smirked "Kaiba has a great fan: himself! He thinks he IS the world."

Two naughty grins were plastered on the two friends' faces as the whole commencing process began. Kaiba grouchingly told Serenity to shout when she was ready.

Serenity slowly released Marik's hand and etched closer to the glass. Her determined thoughts came back to her as she watched the old figure clutch helplessly at her now wet handkerchief.

Trepidation hovered over the group.

'I promise...I won't let it happen. Not to you too...' only Marik heard the girl whisper.

"NOW!!!" Serenity Wheeler shouted and all hell broke loose.


	2. Just woke up

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

"ENGAGE!" Lena shouted at the top of her lungs. At once both Taichi and Soiji pushed two levers simultaneously. Kaiba and the two elderly doctors were transfixed and could only stare.

Serenity and her new friend, Marik, were standing there, unmoving, observing in absolute sock and trying to register what was happening.

Serenity leaned towards the glass and Kaiba followed her lead. "Hey guys!! Look!" Rika cried excitedly and pointed at the figure.

"Gee, thanks Rika, you've totally enlightened us right now…" Kenji muttered and Soiji snickered.

Serenity had no time for this, though. She bent so near to the glass that her nose was nearly stuck on it. She gasped roughly. "OH MY GOD!" she cried "Look at his belly!"

Marik bent next to her and squinted his eyes. "Oh my God…" was heard Taichi's serious voice "It's real…It's actually happening."

It was real all right. Serenity watched, entranced, as the baggy material that was once the person's skin, started to tighten. The frozen, limp flesh of his belly was moving upwards. Serenity covered her mouth with both hands and Kaiba stared like a cow. Literally.

The withered, wrinkled chest moved upwards and formed ultimate masculine curves. The nipples now stood pink and hard at the sides of his sculptured chest. His belly not only had tightened but the muscles were starting to appear. Six chess-board-like abs tightened viciously. The scientists watched the shiny blue essence pierce into his body and transform the man into something else, completely.

The white fuzz that represented his hair vanished. They could not see well because of the helmet but they surely saw some healthy, white strands cascade down the man's shoulders. They were white again, but this time they were shiny and looked silky to the touch.

Serenity whimpered as she observed. She watched the blue elixir push through the man's veins. His flabby arms were becoming rock-hard. The muscles on his legs were bursting, vibrating with health.

Kaiba shook his head to recover. "Age check, Rika! Tell me how old he is!!"

"Sir…" Rika was speechless "It is only eleven liters and he is around thirty-five!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Lena shrieked. "The man looked like this when he was only thirty five!? Wow…"

Serenity blinked unceremoniously. She turned her gaze back to the transforming man. Could he possibly get any younger?

Obviously he could…The thick, unbelievable muscles that formed his figure started to diminish, leaving behind them the naturally tight skin of youth.

"What the..?" Kaiba murmured.

"His body is becoming younger! He doesn't need to be overly shaped up! People at their twenties are naturally taut and healthy!" Suzuki said in a non-sarcastical tone, for once.

The magical liquid continued to flow through him. Now the man had become smaller in frame. His muscles were surely very toned but his frame was smaller. He looked almost frail. It was like a sculpture. And on top of his Apollonian chest, perched between his erect nipples was the golden ring. It seemed so much healthier too, in a way. It was like it was alive and glowing with youth.

It was then that Serenity actually took time to look at his face. She made a small whimpering sound.

"Marik!" she said unconsciously "Look at his face."

Marik obliged and gasped too. Thin, protruding cheekbones framed a frail looking nose. The man seemed to be squirming and wincing in pain, so they couldn't see his eyes. His face was generally covered with white bangs though.

"Rika!" Kaiba urgently pressed "Age?"

"He's twenty one, sir, it's almost done!" she shrieked in spite of herself.

Marik gasped incredulously "He's my age?!"

"He's a little older than me." Serenity murmured. Suddenly, as abruptly as it had started, it all ended. They saw the tubes becoming blank and devoid of the blue essence. The _Nectra _had been used successfully. It worked.

An alarm went off somewhere in the lab and the computer voice was heard "Tissue Reconstruction Complete. Tissue Reconstruction Complete. Tissue Reconstruction Complete."

"FINE, MAKE IT SHUT UP!!" shouted a hyper ventilating Kaiba.

Lena shut down the computer quickly and said "Um…sir…you probably don't need to hear me tell you this but…Tissue Reconstruction Complete."

Kaiba glared.

"He's twenty years old, all right…And a damn fine youth he is, if I might add." Rika filled in for her friend. "It took all twenty liters and as for his heart beat. He had a pulse of 150bpm during the 'metamorphosis' until it just steadied at 50bpm. Wonderful."

"The status check tells us he is perfectly fine. All systems are working: digestive, reproductive…everything! He's fine and he's young!"

Serenity watched as an evil smirk graced Kaiba's lips. She knew what he was thinking about: 'Now I really AM God.'

"Look!" Kenji suddenly shook everybody from their focus on laboratory equipment. They turned back to their "specimen" and found him slightly opening his eyes. Serenity almost choked as she saw her own wet handkerchief clutched tightly in his now robust palm. His nails were still long and curved, but at least they looked healthy and pink- not deadly yellow.

The man was starting to sit up with peculiar, mechanical movements.

"Are you sure he's ok?" Kaiba inquired suspiciously.

"Positive" Taichi answered a bit indignantly "Give him some time to adjust, sir."

They all watched, entranced as the man…no… boy opened his eyes giddily. Serenity gasped. They were the same. Nothing had changed. Exactly the same as they had been when he was 120 years old.

Deep chasms of chaotic oak color blinked innocently. He was staring forward. They all realized he was staring at the mirror. He didn't know they were there.

His face was clear to them now. He had finally been released from the helmet and could now sit up freely.

Silky, snow-white hair that reached the middle of his muscle-carved back flew gracefully around his face. They had said he was Japanese but he certainly didn't look like it…

His white skin was ghastly and angel-like, but it didn't stop the toned muscles from pumping viciously with every move.

Serenity found herself blushing for some reason. Blushing furiously, actually. Now what was that all about? She really should try to relax herself…this was merely an experiment…right?

Only this time the specimen was no old shaking fag. He was a robust man of flesh and blood, standing before her; his blood pumping hungrily in his veins. He was absolutely stunning.

To Serenity he seemed even more immaculate than Marik- the tropical god. This was the second overly beautiful man she had met in one day.

Only this was different. This time, the blood had rushed in her cheeks simply by staring into his innocent, unknowing orbs of forest brown.

Then it happened; the inevitable. He obviously realized he was staring at himself… his now very young and very different self.

They listened intently for any sound he might make, but to their astonishment, he didn't.

Serenity turned to glance at Kaiba. He still had that look of perverted triumph on his face. This was all an experiment to him. It disgusted her.

She pulled her attention back to the white haired man and the moment she saw what he was doing, her blood froze completely. He was staring at his hand and softly caressing the worn handkerchief. His innocent eyes clouded as though they were seeing an ancient memory.

To everyone's astonishment, he put the little piece of cloth near his nose and smelled it. Then he smiled brightly. It was unbelievable. The smile that broke through his face turned his innocent eyes into burning suns of brown fire, waiting to explode.

Serenity blushed again and this time she could not deny it, she was becoming as red as a tomato.

The boy stared back into his reflection and unknowingly, into Serenity's eyes. His honest poles laughed at her. She gasped lightly.

He was attempting to stand and the slim white sheet was slowly slipping away. Serenity held her breath and felt everyone else do the same. She felt Marik shut his eyes tightly and she couldn't help but sympathize.

They silently waited, cursing, for the sight of his exposed flesh. But it never came. As he was standing up, the man noticed the sliding piece of material and grabbed it roughly before it could slide off him. His innocent eyes were full of questions. This was the first time he seemed to fully register he was completely naked, save for that sorry cloth.

He placed the handkerchief on the chair with feathery, angel like movements. He then took better hold of the white sheet and tied it around his waist. Rika silently giggled.

"Poor guy…" she said "He reminds me of that jungle-man…um…Ta-Tarzom…? Something like that…"

Serenity giggled at the intended joke, but it came out a bit forced, since she was focusing solely on the man's movements.

He had stood up now and was trying to walk. He couldn't help but stare at his hands and torso in utter astonishment. Logical, thought Serenity. One minute he was an old man with beautiful eyes and now he was a charming, young man left alone in a deserted room, somewhere in KaibaCorp.

The man was staring at his palm now, in a wondrous manner. Then he abruptly turned towards the chair and studied it. He carefully approached and picked up the handkerchief with ethereal movements.

"I think he fell in love with Ms Wheeler's hanky." Suzuki said sardonically.

"I think he fell in love with Ms Wheeler herself!" Ayano retorted.

At this oh-so-innocent remark, Serenity had blushed crimson from the roots of her auburn hair to the ends of her purple-painted toe-nails.

Rika and Lena chuckled and Serenity had truly wanted to tackle them at that moment. This impressive stranger was messing with her head so much that she couldn't even muster her trademark fake smile.

Now she could only stare at him and his innocent eyes as they observed each renewed part of his body.

"Slow, isn't he?" Kaiba remarked dryly and Serenity had wanted to hit him at that point. From the look in Marik's eyes, he had wanted it too.

Everything changed as the white haired statue of Hermes turned around to the "mirror" yet again. The muscles of his lower back pulsated as he twisted his body. Now they could all see his absolute abs and chest, as well as his thin, porcelain face. One of his hands held the white sheet in place as the other clutched tightly on Serenity's hanky.

He started approaching with slow, peculiarly savored movements. The golden ring clanged sweetly against his tight torso.

"…" Marik opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Then he managed to choke something out in an awed whisper and Serenity couldn't help but agree with whatever astonished comment it was he had said.

The angelic creature had now fully approached the glass. He was standing tantalizingly close to Serenity, who froze at the up-close sight of him. His innocent eyes were wide open and he seemed to be examining his reflection up close. The poor man obviously couldn't believe it. How could he have turned from a dying old man to his young, handsome self in a matter of minutes?

He touched the glass airily and ran his palm along the lean surface, walking as he did. He passed before Marik and Taichi and Suzuki until he stopped in front of Kaiba. Kaiba glared with unbelievable contempt as though he could break the glass and pin it into the newcomer's forehead.

The albino boy lowered his arm. Serenity then noticed him narrowing his eyes as if to see through the glass. Could it be…he knew…? Those innocent orbs of his glittered brightly with childish purity.

Serenity felt a pang of anguish and delight run through her as she saw him clutching her handkerchief protectively, with both hands.

She almost jumped from joy when she saw him take the small cloth and hold it against his cheek, just as Serenity had done for him before.

That innocence was back in his eyes and it was almost unbearable! Serenity had never seen such expressive eyes before. They bore into the soul.

This boy was peculiar, Kaiba decided. He was shaped up as a man- and a very handsome man as it was- and he also moved like a man. He did; however seem to carry the sentimental psychology of a woman. This is the definition Seto Kaiba had for "romantic sentimental fools" like little snow-head over there. This was probably the result of being an old man, Kaiba decided. No man could be _that _innocent! This person was a living reincarnation of Kaiba's theory about stupidity.

Just then, the boy did the indescribable. He took Serenity's worn handkerchief and twisted it elegantly around his wrist. He smiled when he had created a bracelet of it. Then he turned away from the mirror and back to the middle of his lonely prison.

He was smiling in a carefree manner when, abruptly, his ring started to glow.

A few scientists gasped but Kaiba quickly reassured them it was a flick of the light or something. Serenity and Marik noticed the way Kaiba rushed to reassure everyone that it had been nothing. Could it be that Kaiba knew something they didn't?

Abruptly, the albino boy's eyes widened in surprise and joy. In a few moments his gaze seemed to follow something that stood beside him.

Then, his eyes filled with unshed, innocent tears and he shouted in a tongue unknown to the rest:

"Yami!"

His voice was light and melodic. As sultry deep and husky Marik's voice was, that was how feathery and airy the white haired one's tone was.

The boy made a move as though to run onto something in the air but suddenly his expression changed and he seemed to calm down. Slowly, almost fearfully, he turned towards the mirror again. This time there was angst in his eyes.

Marik's eyes had widened incredibly. He looked around hoarsely, but no one else seemed to notice. He stared back at the white haired boy. Oh God! Was he hallucinating now? Was he seeing things? The moment the ring had glowed he had seen a white smoke envelop the boy.

Marik had watched as a figure emerged from the smoke. It was an exact replica of the other boy, only slightly taller and more mature. The new man stood next to the shorter protectively. He was slightly…if Marik hadn't known better he'd say…translucent.

The young boy whipped his head swiftly and stared at the newcomer with joyful eyes.

"Yami!!" he had shouted. He made a move so as to hug his clone friend but the other held a hand to stop him. Marik blinked in confusion. He heard the translucent person say:

"Don't do it hikari…Don't you remember the last time you talked to me in front of people? They'll think you're crazy again! Wait a little. They're watching"

Marik froze completely. He looked around hoarsely, but everybody else was staring at Ryou only. They were probably thinking that Ryou was still schizophrenic and talking to himself!

The tanned boy turned his gaze back to the interior of the room with the two albinos. The Yami character was pointing at the mirror and the innocent one turned with fear written all across his face.

Then, as Marik thought he was going insane, he felt the icy feeling of being watched by someone. He raised his eyes only to meet those of the "Yami " person. Yami was staring right at him. He had an unreadable, deadly glare.

"You can see me, can't you?" he demanded -more like stated- the obvious.

Marik's blood turned cold and his perfect tanned profile paled into one of pure horror. Subconsciously, he tugged at Serena's arm but she was staring at the innocent boy still.

Marik felt very much alone at that moment.

Yami glared harder, until Marik thought his skull was about to crack in two halves. How did Yami know?

Yami then suddenly started to fade away into the ring; literally. His accusing voice was still echoing in Marik's ears. "You can see me…and I can see you…"

With these painful words the Yami- whoever this psychotic version of the innocent boy was- disappeared. By then, Marik had been gripping Serenity's sleeve so tightly that it was starting to hurt her.

"Ow!" she groaned "Marik what is it? Marik??" she asked a little worriedly when she saw the unusual pale complexion settled in her exotic friend's face.

"I-I…" he stuttered. Serenity was very concerned by now. First the albino boy had gotten worried and now Marik…What was going on? "I…Just…Saw…"

"Yes?" she inquired. It was a good job nobody else noticed them talking. They were all too absorbed in the albino boy.

"I-I'll tell you later, ok?" Marik inquired shakily.

"O-kaay. You know you can trust me with anything, Marik." Serenity softly said and Marik solemnly nodded. Yami's words were still swirling around his mind. Damn him!

Both Marik and Serenity refocused their thoughts at the godly figure of the recently transformed white-haired boy.

"RIKA? What the heck was that? Why was he wacking out? Is he still schizzo, or what? If he is, we'll send him to and institution right away. Now that we know the experiment works, it's ok." Kaiba harshly barked. Marik cringed.

Serenity's heart broke at these words. She wouldn't let go so easily, though! She had promised that man that she would help him find peace in a new life! She would do it!

Rika's voice echoed around. "I don't think he is crazy. It was just an old memory. Poor thing, he is so confused."

"That's it!" Kaiba's voice stormed around precariously "We don't need him any more! He'll be sent to an appropriate institution first thing tomorrow!"

Serenity decided to speak up. "We all care about the new guy, Kaiba! You can't give someone his life and then snatch it back away! What are you playing at? This is a human being we're talking about!" she snapped. It wasn't a smart move to turn against her boss, but she wouldn't let them take the new boy away no matter what. Why was Kaiba so persistent on getting rid of the boy anyway? Everyone wanted to double-check if the boy was a psycho, but Kaiba seemed desperate to destroy him.

"What is wrong with you people?" Kaiba yelled, exasperated "This is a psychopath from six hundred years ago we are talking about Set yo---"

"No!!" Marik shouted, startling everyone. Kaiba blinked and turned to look at him in sudden, unexpected reluctance. "You can't snatch his life away from him! Why didn't you just let him die in the first place if you were planning to make him rot away at some nuthouse?!"

Serenity watched intently as Marik's anger intensified in his eyes. She could already see everyone was taking Marik's side for one reason or another. She had only known Marik for a few hours but she had seen so much of him already! It's like she already knew him from somewhere long ago!

At the sound of Marik's words, Kaiba seemed to calm. He turned his gaze towards the beautiful albino and nodded dumbly, indicating he would succumb to Marik's wishes. Everyone else, Marik included, was startled by this behavior. Since when would the great Kaiba listen and obey to _Marik's_ wishes? Was there some kind of unknown bond between the two? If so, what was it?

Serenity was very confused as she resumed her staring at the newcomer. He was perched on the chair again, playing shyly with his handkerchief bracelet. It's like he suddenly realized they had been watching him.

The chatting scientists were caught off-guard by an unfamiliar, airy voice. It echoed through the speakers in the lab's corners.

Everyone's attention refocused at the albino beauty who was shyly calling out with an airy voice.

Kaiba watched with mysterious malice and disgust as the object of everyone's attention spoke shyly and calmly.

Serenity was feeling a hard pressure squeeze her heart. He was still lightly stroking the handkerchief fabric which was settled around his wrist. A faint blush creped up her cheeks. He was so…innocent…so wonderful in every way…

"A-Anoo…(um…)" the boy stuttered lightly in a language none of them knew. They assumed it was Japanese since the person was from Japan to begin with.

"Sumimasen…d-demo (excuse me, but…)" he started shyly with that feathery voice of his- his elegance even reached his voice. He was blushing lightly and Serenity found it to be incredibly adorable. He was obviously not comfortable being so _exposed_ in front of so many people- even though he couldn't see them.

"Nihongo o hanashimasu ka? (Do you speak Japanese?)" Nope…no good. No one had any idea what he was saying but it was soothing just to listen to his light voice.

The boy obviously decided to give it another try.

"Um… Hello. Do you speak English?" he inquired hopefully in a flawless British accent.

Marik broke into a smile and was in front of the microphone before Rika or Lena could even move.

"Yes, we do. We all speak English." echoed the sensual, deep voice of the tanned, tropical man. The albino boy smiled and his innocent eyes glimmered brightly.

Serenity quickly settled to the seat next to Marik. Now it was Rika and Lena who were standing and Serenity and Marik who were doing the talking.

The innocent expression was really not fit on a twenty year-old, shaped up man, but it was enough to make Serenity melt like putty. The same went for Rika. And Lena. And probably every other girl in the galaxy.

Thus the innocent style could not have been so bad, really.

"Um…could you please tell me what happened? And who you are?" the young man inquired politely.

Marik and Serenity exchanged glances. Marik bent into the mike and allowed his deep, husky voice to travel to the albino's ears.

"It's a very long story…We can't tell you everything right now…"

The innocent boy seemed to nod and silently accept that answer. Suddenly, hope lit back in his eyes. He stared straight at the mirror and lifted the hand with the hanky wrapped around it.

"Then maybe the girl who gave me this can tell me!" the handsome white haired boy said.

Serenity's eyes flashed an incomprehensible colour of delight and she quickly bent down to speak, before Marik could beat her to it.

"Do you remember what she looked like?" Serenity oh-so-innocently asked, eyeing Marik slyly.

"What the heck is she doing? Flirting?" Kaiba asked furiously in the background.

"She's trying to check for memory loss" Marik covered immediately.

Serenity smiled gratefully as she listened to the stranger's answer.

"All I can remember is that she looked like an angel and she had reddish eyes…" the handsome youth said dreamily. Kaiba rolled his eyes, despising the youth more and more with every passing second.

Serenity had blushed a painful colour of tomato red and Marik had trouble stifling his snorts. Serena glared towards his general direction and then swiftly turned to the mike.

"Do you remember your name?" she inquired in a delighted tone. After having heard such an unintentional compliment, what girl wouldn't?

"Of course I do" the young man said as he stood up from his comfortable seat. He was still blushing because of his "clothing" of course. "My name is Ryou Bakura" he bowed respectfully. The girls sighed and Kaiba huffed. 'This is not Ancient Japan!' he thought 'No bowing!'

Marik beat Serenity this time "All right, Ryou, why don't we send some people to get you properly dressed and then we can discuss various issues?"

Ryou blushed about the clothing comment. "Sure…That would be great, thanks."

Marik grinned and turned to the others. His 'fan club' consisting of every single person in the room beamed back at him. Even Kaiba let his grouch go for an instant…It came back full force, though.

"Why do you decide things without asking me?" he barked at Marik and everybody else winced, wishing they could evacuate the area. "I'm the head of the company after all!!"

"Of course, sire!" replied Marik evenly without missing a beat and certainly with not a speck of submissiveness in his tone "That's why I thought it would be nice for him to be dressed when he talked to you."

It was very amusing to Serenity, the way Kaiba would always stutter and diminish at Marik's retorts and excuses…Hilarious really. The great, cold and steely Kaiba had a fatal weakness, it seemed: Marik. It was truly very secretive and mysterious, the reason why Marik had such a tremendous effect on Kaiba. She would find out sooner or later! What could it be? Did Kaiba love Marik or something? Nah…that didn't seem to be the case…Kaiba gay? Well that was a funny thought, but not likely. Something else was going on here and Serenity was sure to find out.

Marik chuckled in a very sensual way, causing hair to rise at the necks of all his companions- even Serenity.

Suddenly, as he was about to continue enjoying himself with driving Kaiba up the wall by controlling his every decision, Marik turned to the microphone. He could hear Ryou Bakura speaking.

"…I'm dreadfully sorry for this…but…can I see…that girl again?" he asked innocently, making Serenity jump in exasperation and delight at the same time. Marik looked apprehensive.

Ryou gave a goofy grin "I really… need to thank her for everything…"

Kaiba was facing the sky wearily "Why me?" he silently inquired. He didn't want Marik to hear him in case he came up with another witty response that would mysteriously make Kaiba follow his whims…again.

"Okay, Ryou…Wait up. We're coming!" with that said, Marik closed the link off and turned to Serenity.

"Do you mind if I come too, Serena? I'm very fond of him, myself…He's an excellent indication of passed civilizations!" Marik said with a sly look. His 'fan club' stared in disbelief. Marik actually was interested in someone for a change? Well that was new! Usually it was others who were begging for the beautiful boy's attention, not Marik granting it freely. It would not discourage the hordes of fans fighting to claim a place in the his heart, though.

Kaiba was seething with silent hatred. That Ryou Bakura…he was gonna get it…Tomorrow he would be sent to a special place where Kaiba would make sure he was 'taken care of'. Marik would not be able to mess with Kaiba's plans then!

Marik, on the other hand, could not rest his mind from the unexpected appearance of that "Yami" character. Those burning blood-red eyes… so similar and yet so different from Ryou's. They were etched permanently upon Marik's memory. Could it be that if he approached the innocent young boy, his intriguing dark partner would show up once more? Marik couldn't wait.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serenity had never been so nervous in her entire life. She hadn't been so nervous when she was having her job interview, for God's sake. Marik stood next to her confidently. She hadn't forgotten about him having something important to tell her, but she figured the whole 'getting Ryou dressed' mission was more important at this point….at least for her.

Oh no! What was she going to tell him? Last time she was up close to him he was a dying old man! Now that he was a semi-naked hunk what was she supposed to do? He'd stare at her in admiration with those big chocolate eyes and…and…what would she do?! Oh shoot…

She was holding the clothes they had chosen for him to wear. The soft fabric was folded neatly in her arms. Suddenly, she felt Marik moving forward and followed mechanically. He stood before the door to the "hall of torture". Serenity gulped nervously as she saw Marik take that forbidden step. The automatic mechanism clicked immediately and the doors snapped open. Seeing that Serenity wasn't going to bring herself to walk through the door, Marik settled on dragging her through.

Once she entered the darkened room, Serenity instantly saw it. It was him, Ryou Bakura, leaning casually against a wall. Somehow, he had managed to drape the sheet around him in a more decent way. His white skin in combination with the white sheet was making him look more angelic than anything she had ever known…An ethereal man. How unusual…and disturbing.

He stood there, playing giddily with his golden ring. 'He must really love it' Serenity mused 'He occupies himself with it 24/7!!'

Marik noticed this too and felt his suntanned skin sizzle at the thought of the sheer fear, anguish and peculiar excitement "Yami's" appearance provoked. He definitely had to learn more about this mysterious spirit.

Ryou looked up immediately and his innocent eyes sparkled like stars. Taking rigid hold of his "garments" the young man approached the two scientists. He noticed the sun-tanned boy with the golden hair and the exotic aura. The aura wasn't at all refreshening or light; it was deep as the abyss; deep and tropical and endless from the chasms of the desert.

Truly attractive was the boy but Ryou's attention screamed frantically for the girl. He replayed it in his mind: The slim hazy form he remembered from a dream-like state…All he could remember was her fresh touch and her eyes. Those bright orbs of hazel…

Were staring right at him.

He took a better look at the girl standing in front of him, squirming uncomfortably beneath his gaze. Oh dear Gods, it was her! The same red, slim silhouette! The same auburn hair and…those pits….those Hazel diamonds.

"You're her." He simply stated.

Serenity was blushing a very interesting shade of red, and the fact that she remembered everyone was watching from the other room wasn't helping...

The boy looked incredible from up close, Serenity thought. Layers of silky angelic skin covered his well toned muscles with his form overall slim and elegant. His jaw was positively strong and square. It seemed as though all characteristics of his face were exotic with protruding cheekbones and huge brown eyes.

It was magnificent really. The way the man moved betrayed a life-time of more than sixty years. It was obvious that the boy still believed he was an old man. He was afraid to move, afraid to walk. Thus he resulted to gliding lightly... He would probably get used to it eventually. The way the boy talked was slow and wise. He didn't seem to be the one to waste time with chatter or useless statements. He was reticent and romantic, as though every part of life was about to slip away from him if he didn't savor it in silence and meditation. The most magical thing about him was his warm, expressive gaze. Years of unspoken wisdom were hidden in his chocolate, innocent orbs.

"Yes, I am her." Serenity found the courage to say.

Ryou's emotions were swelling inside him like a bubble. It was her. Her soft voice washed through his ears and brought with it hazy words said in dreams… "Y-You saved me!" he exclaimed, and instinctively raised the hand on which was wrapped her white handkerchief. The young man was staring at her with indescribable clear, pure feelings.

It was peculiar how a grown man could attain such powers of innocence.

She just kept staring at him in disbelief. It took her a moment to realize what was happening. She could see Ryou move in front of her, and she watched in terror and excitement as the intoxicating man took hold of her hand.

Her mind was telling her to pull back, but the feel of his soft skin against her own was leaving sparks of delight in her body.

Slowly, as though words were not needed, he proceeded to tug at the white cloth around his wrist. The silky material slid gracefully out of the knot and into his hand. He took hold of it, and to Serenity's astonishment, pressed it against his cheek. Then he brought her hand to rest on top of it.

Serenity and the unreal beauty in front of her both had the same flashback. It had just happened moments ago, but it was as fuzzy as a dream. They were at the same pose. She was holding that cloth to this right cheek and his hand was keeping her own into place with light caresses.

This time it had seemed so different, though. It wasn't compassion for an old man. This time it was a young boy, as real and as beautiful as the air they breathed in. She was holding the cheek of an innocent, handsome young man and he was caressing her hand. Time seemed to freeze in misty thoughts of desire.

"Thank you…" she heard the boy say… She had been right, after all! He had wanted to thank her all along. Slight twinges of guilt wracked her body- no! She'd never let them abuse Ryou! She felt she at least owed him that. To receive the affection of such a fallen angel was a gift Serenity would cherish and prove to be worthy of…She would prove she was worth his supreme affection.

"Thank you for helping me rest at a time of pain…" Ryou whispered only loud enough for Serenity to hear. They had come awfully close, and the girl could feel the man's ethereal, scorching breath graze her face.

She wanted to answer, wanted to say something, but she was frozen. She felt she was being pulled forward, drawn like a moth to the man's body.

A long, swan neck stretched before her face. She had come so close that she could actually make out the soft diagram of the man's Adam 's apple. Her hand was still clasped upon his cheek, though it wasn't as gentle a touch. Mysteriously, she had more-or-less been grasping his face in a tight hold. His own hand was grabbing hers, pressing it even harder against his flushed cheek.

The heat was almost overwhelming. She could sense the lean, immaculate chest heave erratically up and down just a few inches away from her own beating heart. She could smell something light and oceanic, maybe the smell that came after a storm, with the appearance of a rainbow. That was his smell; the smell of dew and wind in a fresh morning.

She could feel his body dangerously close to her and through his tight grasp she could almost feel his recently renewed blood pump zealously. Her own body vibrated in response to his. All this she could feel, as she stared into his pure and innocent almond orbs.

How was it possible that even as he was nearly kissing her, even as they were losing themselves in desire, his eyes expressed absolute sincerity? They were glazed over with something unknown, but the innocence was there none the less.

Serenity's ankles were beginning to weaken. That intense gaze almost shattered her to pieces. She was so close now…

Marik smiled, sensing this was the right time to finally interrupt. "Ryou" he said with a deep, dark voice "These are you're clothes. Dr Wheeler and I picked them for you."

Ryou and Serenity jerked away from each other as if awakened from a dream. Ryou was blinking calmly and innocently, while Serenity was trying to regain her smiling composure. As Ryou was processing what he had just been told, his eyes never left those of the auburn haired girl.

It took a while of total staring until Marik gently nudged Ryou with something. Ryou slowly turned towards Marik's direction, his eyes never leaving Serenity until he had no choice but to look at Marik.

"Here, let me help you with this cloak for now…" Marik offered. He was the only one able to talk coherently right now, actually.

Ryou was completely silent as Marik walked around and stood behind his back. Ryou didn't even turn around. His persistent, giddy gaze found its way back to Serenity's eyes. He was unmoving and transfixed.

Serenity was smiling broadly, her face never betraying her inner turmoil. The truth was she wanted to burn in flames rather than face his fiery gaze at the moment.

Their tan-skinned friend had moved behind Ryou and was carefully draping a dark green cloak around the slim man's shoulders. Marik's actions were totally ignored by Ryou although they were distantly and barely acknowledged by Serenity.

Ryou kept his eyes fixed on the girl the whole time, while Marik adjusted his hair to the new cloak and fixed the fabric properly on his shoulders. When Marik was finished, he moved back between the tension of the two.

"Thank you…" Ryou said quietly. The small nod that he gave to the right proved he was talking to Marik, although he was still staring at Serenity.

The girl was half hopeful, half reluctant to attempt escaping his gaze.

"Come on, Serenity, Give the man his new clothes and I'll take him somewhere to change." Marik said while eyeing the both of them carefully. Ryou was unmoving. Frozen to the spot. Serenity seemed the same at first but soon she smiled and nodded towards Marik's general direction. Her eyes were still locked with the ancient's, though.

Marik was getting very tired of not being properly addressed. He gingerly reached and took Ryou's clothes from within Serenity's arms. She hardly noticed.

"Serenity!?" Ryou's innocent eyes widened and he suddenly grabbed the girls hand in his own two. "You're name is ….Serenity?!" he asked tensely. His sparkling gaze was sending shivers down the girl's spine. He was holding her hands gently yet tensely. His eyes looked desperate for an answer, as though his life depended on a simple word.

Serenity seemed a bit dazed as she hesitantly answered "Y-Yes…" The raw emotion of joy and delight were etched upon Ryou's young, boyish features.

"I'll call you Serena, then…" he said, and Serenity's eyes lit up like stars. Joey had always called her Serena. Everyone who was close to her called her like that…Ryou was still holding her hands and staring at her tensely, as though his innocent life depended on her gaze.

Serenity felt the familiar pang on guiltiness. This person trusted her so much…If only he knew it was her who had been working with those who had condemned him.

'No' she thought 'I'll take care of him! I'll make sure he escapes! I'll make sure!'

Marik's exotic, light steps brought Serenity back to reality. She watched as the tanned, beautiful boy gently took hold of the pale angel's elbow and gingerly tugged forward.

Ryou's hands that had been entwined with Serena's slowly slipped away as Marik ever so elegantly dragged the other boy outside the "hall of torture".

Ryou's eyes were fixed on Serenity's until the last moment, when he had fully excited the room, hopefully never to enter it again.

Serena was left alone in the room with the chair that conspicuously reminded her of that thing she had seen in the "Encyclopedia of Ancient Times". It was called capital punishment…

Suddenly, a serious manly voice echoed from the speakers around her.

"Wow,_ Serena_, that was some intense stuff…I guess your _hanky_ really is irresistible…" Taichi said.

She blushed as she could almost sense the giggles of Lena and Rika from the background.

Thoughts of a certain snowflake- haired, tall boy swirling in her mind, Serenity Wheeler started a steady walk to the other laboratory, where she would officially maim her colleagues.


	3. Escape

**Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad my writing is interesting! Please review again and tell me what you think! I don't mind the few reviews, what matters to me is what the few reviews say!!**

****

**_IMPORTANT NOTE!!!!!_**

**There have been some major changes made in the first two chapters. I'm not telling to read them again coz I know how boring and tiring that must be, so I decided to tell you about the changes.**

**1: Kaiba is not in love with Marik. I repeat, Kaiba is not in love with Marik.**

**2: Marik is not attracted to Bakura yet, he just wants to talk to the sprit again!!**

**3: The relationship between Kaiba and Marik is this: Whenever Kaiba makes a decision and Marik tells him to do something else, Kaiba obeys.Marik has the power to affect Kaiba's decisions. we don't know why or how. We just know that he can.**

**OK! This is it! If you want to make sure of this re-read the first chapters but there will be nothing different except the mentioned points.**

****

**Right! On with the story!**

* * *

It had been a while since Marik and Ryou Bakura had left. Marik had taken Ryou to a special changing room. Serenity suddenly realized she felt jumpy without Marik by her side. It seems the handsome boy was surrounded by a comforting, reassuring aura.  
  
The moment Marik had left; Kaiba had called a meeting between the few scientists. Serenity was very suspicious of her boss, who seemed extremely intent about making arrangements without Marik around. Could it be that Kaiba was worried Marik would alter his decisions again? How was Marik able to make Kaiba do what he wants, anyway? Why was Kaiba submissive in front of Marik? Weird...  
  
Kaiba said he wanted to talk about the progress of operation 'Rewind 1' and Ryou Bakura's future. This had intrigued Serenity. 'Is Kaiba still planning to send Ryou to the nuthouse? I thought Marik managed to change his mind...'  
  
The scientists were now gathered in a nearby laboratory. Serenity subconsciously marveled at the size of the KaibaCorp facility. It was a complete labyrinth...  
  
Everyone was seated around the conference table. Kaiba was sitting in a huge armchair at the far end of the table and Serenity had the seat next to him. The seat across from her was empty- probably Marik's. 'Damn' she thought 'Where is he? Why are they so late?'  
  
She stole a glance at Kaiba who was looking particularly self-satisfied at the moment. He was sipping slowly from a glass of keti (wine of the 25th century-don't ask...)  
  
'How vain can a person get?' Serenity thought as she studied her boss's smug face. After Kaiba waited for the scientists to relax and have a refreshment, he started talking. He stood up and sauntered around them casually.  
  
"As you can see my trusty employees..." he started and Serenity rolled her eyes "Operation 'Rewind 1' was a blatant success! We have found a way to attain Eternal youth and consequently eternal life!"  
  
Kaiba stopped walking and turned to ominously gaze at all of them, one by one.  
  
"Now we all know that only the few of us know this secret..." he started precariously "and we will keep it that way, won't we? Coz we all know that if we don't...Someone will get hurt." he said slowly "And it won't be me." A few gulps were heard from Serenity's colleagues and she herself was feeling trapped and alone at the moment. 'I don't like the sound of this...Where the hell is Marik?!'  
  
"This is a huge success..." Kaiba continued "and I intend to keep it this way. The public will not find out about Nectra lest I want it to, is that clear?" he questioned and everyone nodded. All the while Serenity was thinking about the rumors of Kaiba's heartlessness and how true they were.  
  
"Um..." was heard a murmur. Everyone turned to Dr. Ayano's direction. "When are we going to sell Nectra, sir? When and to whom, if I may ask." Kaiba glared at the poor chubby man.  
  
"That's for me to know and for you to find out." he said "you already know enough as it is...and I'm entirely pleased about that either"  
  
Serenity didn't like the sound of all this. She didn't like it at all. First he tells them they know very much and they mustn't tell anyone and now he says they know TOO much and they will be punished either way! What was this? Some kind of blackmailing sick game? The atmosphere was becoming tenser by the minute. Kaiba's stark voice broke through the silence once again.  
  
"As for our newest arrival, that schizophrenic ancient freak that was our specimen...' Serenity tensed 'Now what?' she thought.  
  
"Well...the experiment is over. We will throw away our rubbish like good kids. Ryou Bakura is rubbish, so I suggest we dump him immediately to an institute tomorrow morning. I have already made the appropriate arrangements with the government..."  
  
Serenity's temper flared suddenly. Now he had hit a nerve. She spoke up "Wait a minute, sir!"  
  
Kaiba seemed startled that someone except Marik had dared to defy him for a change. He glared daggers at Serenity. "What is it?" he barked.  
  
"I don't think Ryou Bakura is rubbish. He is a person after all! We brought him back so it is now our responsibility to take good care of him! Don't you agree?" she asked while glancing around at her colleagues. Most of them nodded while others gave low whispers of agreement.  
  
Serenity turned back to her boss, looking satisfied. Kaiba smirked.  
  
"And that is exactly what we are going to do, Ms Wheeler. We are going to take good care of him, all right! Don't forget, my friends, that the man is a national threat. He is seriously sick. His schizophrenia caused great trouble in the 21st century. I don't see what would stop him from doing it again! You all saw him talking to himself in the lab! The man is a lunatic for goodness sakes!"  
  
"Does that mean you have the right to judge him, sir?" a deep masculine voice was heard. Everyone's head whipped around immediately to meet the sight of the exotic boy's figure. Marik had apparently just entered and was holding the door with his left hand. His right hand held a death grip of somebody's elbow. It took a minute for everyone to recognize the figure that stood next to Marik. It was the white-haired, gentle Ryou. He somehow looked different. He was now wearing black pants and a gray turtleneck. Around him was secured a doctors' robe similar to Marik's. It would have seen weird for other employees to see someone as unusual as Ryou walk around the halls of KaibaCorp without a robe.  
  
Kaiba's eyes widened as he watched Marik close the door slowly and walk to his seat while dragging Ryou behind him. The atmosphere suddenly felt comforting for everyone and Serenity was immensely relieved. Marik sat down daintily and left Ryou to stand next to him. Ryou suddenly realized he would have to stay there, at the mercy of everyone's stares or -in Kaiba's case- glares.  
  
He was feeling very uncomfortable but it never showed on his porcelain face. Serenity understood his discomfort, however, and quickly motioned to a vacant seat at her left. Ryou understood and his eyes flashed a note of gratefulness at her. She smiled a genuine smile for a change- with all that fake sweetness, she felt as though she had lost herself... The boy approached and sat on the chair with small, composed movements. Serenity didn't have time to marvel at his grace because Kaiba's voice boomed around them once more.  
  
"Marik!" Kaiba started "How dare you just burst in here!? Not only you were late for the meeting, but you suggest we listen to your opinion too?!'  
  
Marik seemed truly unperturbed by Kaiba's outburst. "I'm very sorry we were late, sir, but I recall you were the one who told us to 'take our time'. You said you wouldn't start without us and it so happened we stumbled across some inconveniences..." Marik let his voice fade away and he exchanged a meaningful glance with Ryou. Serenity watched as the white- haired boy who was sitting next to her granted Marik a simple smile.  
  
She was getting too curious for her own good "What kind of inconveniences?" she asked Ryou in a scarcely audible tone. Ryou absent-mindedly turned to her and smiled his mysterious, innocent smile. Serenity suddenly felt very weak and small. The way this boy made her feel was truly indescribable. She felt as though she was talking to an old man, but a very handsome, tall and sturdy old man...  
  
"I'll tell you later, Serena..." Ryou whispered back mysteriously. Serenity's blood boiled at her cheeks at the sound of the intimate name. She smiled at him.  
  
No one else had noticed all this, as Kaiba and Marik seemed to have engaged in yet another debate, which Marik was sure to win.  
  
"You shouldn't have barged in, Ishtar!" Kaiba yelled desperately.  
  
Marik's temper was still cold and passive. "Just let it go, Kaiba." he said to his boss. Time seemed to freeze for everyone as they watched Kaiba's facial expressions change from irate to angry to indifferent.  
  
"Okay." he said. Marik actually gaped at him. So did everyone else. Had Seto Kaiba actually COMPLIED? Why? How? Moreover, Kaiba seemed disgusted with himself as he glared at nothing in particular.  
  
'Damn it!' he thought 'why is it that every time I try to oppose Marik, my head feels as though it's going to explode?! Darn! What's wrong? Why must I obey that blondie?!'  
  
Dr Ayano, the one who usually broke the ice, did so one more time. "Mr. Ishtar, we were conversing about Ryou Bakura's future before you...um...came in."  
  
Serenity watched as Ryou's perceptive, unwavering gaze slid around the table. 'All this must be very new to him...poor guy...' she thought 'How can he be so relaxed when he can hear them talking about him?' Ryou noticed her gaze on him and smiled at her. She grinned back. Suddenly Ryou reached out and took her hand in his own beneath the big table. Serenity was completely startled. Ryou moved his piercing stare elsewhere, but his hand remained entwined with hers under the table surface, she suddenly felt like she was flying.  
  
"I know this." Marik's deep voice said "And I want to ask Mr. Kaiba the reason why he believes Ryou must be sent to 'an institute' tomorrow morning."  
  
Kaiba's eyes flashed with fury. "Why do you think?" he erupted like a volcano. Marik just stared back blankly. "THE MAN IS SCHIZZOPHRENIC!!! Am I the only one who can see this?! He is responsible for the explosion of ten vehicles of the 21st century, for goodness sakes!! This very person was seen talking and yelling at himself by more than 20 people!! This man has catastrophic mood swings every five seconds!!!"  
  
Serenity felt Ryou's grip around her hand tighten and she gave him a small squeeze for reassurance. His face looked blank and composed, but Serenity could see the inner turmoil this boy was facing. Kaiba continued about Ryou's illness, and the poor boy could do nothing but stare.  
  
"This is no person!! He is and experiment, a guinea pig!! So stop treating him as though he had some sort of value, will ya?" Kaiba shouted the last part of the downpour, which made Serenity more furious than she'd ever thought she'd be. Marik looked the same as his beautiful lavender eyes had constricted to dark slits.  
  
"Now wait a minute!" Serenity yelled as she slammed her fist on the table and jumped out of her seat. Her hand slipped away from Ryou's fresh touch and now both her palms were balled into fists. Ad if on cue, Marik stood up and mimicked Serenity's expression.  
  
"How can you say such things?! Don't you know-" Serenity rambled on angrily, totally forgetting whom she was addressing. Ryou stood up next to her and laid a hand on her tense shoulder. Surprised, she turned around to meet his eyes. He was looking at her expectantly, almost pleadingly. He was telling her to stop.  
  
"But Ryou, don't you understand? I'm doing this for you..." Serenity said quietly with almost teary eyes.  
  
"I know...but let it go...relax." he said quietly and she immediately recognized the wise and experienced old man flash within him. She sighed loudly and waved her hands in the air as and act of exasperation. The she dived into her seat indignantly, Ryou daintily following her lead.  
  
Marik, however, was not at all placated. His eyebrow twitched menacingly and at once, everyone knew: Kaiba was in for Marik's wrath.  
  
"You will not send him to the nuthouse, Kaiba, you understand that? I won't allow it! First you will walk over my dead body and then you will lock Ryou in a cell! He is a human being and he must be treated like one! This is the 25th century, for goodness sake! We have medicine that can deal with Ryou's problems-if there ARE any!! It was YOU who invented these medications, am I right? Have you forgotten already?! What is your problem? Why do you want to send him out so bad, huh? Well I oppose to your strategy Seto Kaiba!" Marik shouted. Such words, spoken by no one but a low-rank scientist must have sounded stupid to the powerful and menacing Kaiba.  
  
Either way, they did sound foolhardy to everybody else. Marik had always been somewhat of a daredevil when it had to do with Kaiba. Ryou's jaw was clenching and Serenity watched as a muscle pumped in his cheek. Her own anxiety was growing.  
  
Kaiba felt dizzy. He wanted to tell Marik off but as he opened his mouth, the words couldn't come out. The pain was growing to an unbelievable rate and all he could say was "Fine, Marik, have it your way." he couldn't believe his own words and obviously, no one else could either. Marik was staring at his boss in utter disbelief. 'Yeah right, ' Kaiba mused 'He's probably trying to act as if he knows nothing...What is he doing to me?'  
  
Marik's mouth opened and closed like that of a fish. He was utterly speechless. He let his somewhat limp body drop on his seat. 'What the hell was that about?' he saw Serenity and Ryou exchange glances of disbelief. He turned to Kaiba and focused on his expression. If Marik didn't know better he would say Kaiba was...in pain..? 'What the...?'  
  
Just then, Marik felt a tug at the back of his mind. It was Kaiba's voice. Marik could hear Kaiba's voice loud and clear in his mind's ear. He turned to look at the frustrated CEO and saw Kaiba gazing at the distance.  
  
'Marik ruined my plans again, it seems....I must not mention anything else in case he forces me into another unwanted decision...Ryou Bakura WILL die no matter what. This brat may ruin my plans...If Marik blocks me from first sending him off and then killing him, that's okay! I'll murder him tonight in the company!  
  
It was Kaiba's voice in his mind! Marik's eyes widened considerably. At first he thought he was imagining things but them he saw the malicious smirk on Kaiba's face as he stared into the distance 'Oh my God, it's true... Kaiba is ...thinking about killing Bakura! I can read his thoughts! I can read Kaiba's thoughts! Wha- what is wrong with me? First he obeys my whims and now I can read his thoughts?!'  
  
Marik watched, terrified, as Kaiba's evil smirk intensified. He could hear no other thoughts but he knew what his boss was probably imagining. 'I must stop this!' Marik desperately thought 'but I can't let them know I can read his thoughts! They'll think I am somehow controlling him!'  
  
Just then, Kaiba's low, hissing voice interrupted the silence. "Well...since our friend Ryou won't be visiting a special place after all, we might as well host him in a KaibaCorp guestroom for tonight. It has been a long day for all of us, after all. Ryou can be let free after tonight." Kaiba seemed very composed and normal, which was fishy from Serenity's and Ryou's points of view. Marik, however, thought of it as a horrible, sly plan of murder.  
  
"That is all for today, gentlemen! Lena and Rika, one last request: see to it that our new friend is accompanied to our special, soundproof, guarded glass cells, if you please." Kaiba stated with an air of finality.  
  
Marik didn't like the sound of this at all: soundproof, glass-made and guarded room.... It all screamed "murder" to him. He had truly read Kaiba's thoughts after all. Did that mean Kaiba could read his own thoughts? Oh- oh...  
  
Lena and Rika stepped eagerly near the angel-like, white-haired boy. Ryou smiled kindly at them and they made soft noises. Serenity felt a huge pang of jealousy at this and she couldn't believe how possessive and over- protective she was being about a man she had just met. Her smiling facade was up, however, and she smiled at everyone in general.  
  
Ryou glanced back at her and took her hand in his own. She choked on her breath and at once her fake smile was down. Now it was replaced with an anxious look. "Why didn't you let me help you?" she asked him. He smiled a shining smile, which reached his eyes and lightened her world. "Sometimes, it's better to relax." he said quietly, his gaze locked on hers ever so tightly as he slowly caressed her hand "Besides, you've already helped me more than you can imagine..."  
  
An indescribable load of guilt was brought down Serenity's shoulders. Ryou was never told of the way he came back to youth, after all. He apparently still believed that Serenity had magically done it... This whole feeling of guilt was a bit too much for her. She needed to tell him.  
  
"Ryou, I..." she started but was cut of by his slender fingers against her mouth.  
  
"Hush..." he said " It doesn't matter...' he said airily as his soft warm gaze washed over her.  
  
His expression suddenly turned to an anxious one "I'll see you again, right Serena?" he said, and his unreal, innocent eyes blinked back at her.  
  
She brightened up. He cared for her! Someone cared! "Of course you will!" she happily said. His whole essence seemed to smile at her through his unbelievable eyes. He slowly let his hand slide away from her lips and palm and she saw him turn to Lena and Rika who were observing him expectantly.  
  
As his feathery aura left the room, Serenity felt like a part of her had gone missing. 'I think I'm falling in love with him...' she desperately thought, and images of the innocent man floated back to her.  
  
"Earth to Serenity" a deep young voice was heard and Serenity could almost feel Marik's smirk.  
  
"For your information, I was not daydreaming!" she said indignantly.  
  
"Whatever..." countered Marik while shaking his head. Serenity noticed that everyone had left without her noticing. Now it was only she and Marik in the room.  
  
"Okay...maybe a little bit..." she mumbled while blushing.  
  
Marik chuckled with a husky laugh and proceeded to open the glass door. (This may have been the age of electronics but lets just say that they had a thing for glass, k?) He waited for the lady to step outside after he stiffly exited.  
  
"What's wrong, pal?" Serenity asked lightly but she instantly stiffened when she noticed Marik's forlorn expression.  
  
Marik abruptly stopped walking and looked around cautiously. When he was certain no one was looking, he grabbed Serenity's arm and dragged her into an empty laboratory.  
  
"Marik what the heck?" serenity inquired while trying to break free.  
  
Marik stopped and turned to face her. "I'm sorry, Serena, but I have something very important to tell you.' he said with anxious eyes.  
  
"What is it? Go on your scaring me!" Serenity egged him on.  
  
"Fine..." Marik started "Kaiba is planning to murder Ryou tonight."  
  
She froze. She blinked a few times in order to adjust to the new, terrorizing information. "Pardon?" she finally choked.  
  
"I can bet my life on it, Serenity! Kaiba is planning to attack Ryou tonight! That's why he asked for Ryou to stay in KaibaCorp, where he can find him!! He wants to kill him!!"  
  
Serenity was suddenly shaking and hyperventilating. Under certain circumstances, she would have thought it was a joke, but after seeing Kaiba's determination to wipe out all clues that had to do with "Rewind 1' she was very keen on believing this.  
  
"H-How can you be so sure...?" she finally inquired.  
  
"Trust me, Serenity! Please just trust me! I know it! He's going to kill him! Believe me!" Marik pleaded. 'It isn't wise to tell her what happened yet. What is she thinks I'm crazy? I don't want that! If she does, she won't believe me about this.' Marik thought.  
  
Serenity looked apprehensive. "Marik, is there something you're not telling me? What's wrong? Are you in trouble? You know you can trust me with any thing, right? That thing with Kaiba obeying at your wishes...that really freaked us out...Do you want to help me out here...?"  
  
Marik sighed. He knew they would come to this. "Look, Serena...I'll...l tell you everything as soon as possible but I assure you that I know Kaiba's plans perfectly and right now he is planning on eviscerating Ryou! Trust me, please!"  
  
Serenity felt slightly sick. "Why come to me, though, Marik? Maybe YOU can change Kaiba's mind! He always listens to you! He does whatever you tell him!"  
  
'I can't do that because then Kaiba will know I can read his thoughts...' Marik urgently thought. "I know what you mean Serenity, but I don't want Kaiba to know I'm onto his plan! I came to you because I know you care about Ryou! You'll help rescue him, right? We have to do something!"  
  
Serenity listened to her friend and felt that pang of guilt get to her again. It was the least she could do to help the kind boy. She knew that her bright career in KaibaCorp was slowly being flushed down the drain but she curiously didn't care at all. It seemed her best friend in combination with her crush had that effect on people.  
  
"Fine!" she said with a genuine smile. "We'll make a plan to save Ryou. You'll help, right?"  
  
"Of course I will" he said with a sly grin she knew all too well. "Ill do what I do best: distract the guards.'  
  
Serenity chuckled and suddenly reveled at the idea of saving the handsome boy and living up to his expectations. 'Joey would be proud!' she thought and a wave of glee flew around her.  
  
Marik listened intently as she recited her rescue plan. Nevertheless, his thoughts still wandered to unanswered questions. Why did Kaiba obey at his every command and why could he read the CEO's thoughts? Most importantly, why hadn't this evil 'Yami' character shown up at all while he was alone with Ryou? Maybe that psycho held the key to unlock Marik's questions.  
  
The tanned young boy was shaken out of his reverie as his friend shook him roughly by the shoulders. After a while of organizing and deciding when the 'raid' would take place, the two youngsters set out to get prepared. They decided to get the necessary equipment from home and then come back to KaibaCorp at sunset.  
  
"By the way..." Serenity started as she and her stunning friend strode up the complicated corridors-screams from other laboratories echoing around them,,, "What kept you and Ryou from coming to the conference meeting."  
  
Marik grinned impishly and Serenity chuckled at the expression. "Hehe...It's just that all these secretaries and women were 'accidentally' bumping into Ryou and he was forced to tell his name and chat with each and every one of them. "  
  
Serenity silently seethed and Marik chuckled at her reaction.  
  
"Don't worry Serena, Ryou told me he has eyes only for one girl..."  
  
Serenity suddenly jumped and started to shake a bit in simultaneous angst and delight. She stared at Marik with innocent puppy dog eyes. "And...Who might that be?" she asked with a charming, innocent smile.  
  
Marik just smiled in a knowing way "Funny...he didn't say!"  
  
Serenity was flabbergasted and started sulking silently, very much aware of Marik's amused glances.  
  
"I think I'm getting a bit sore about losing my fan club to Ryou, but lots of them addressed me and Ryou as: the hunky duo." Marik continued, purposefully pissing Serenity off "Now I'm sure that both I and RYOU will find a beautiful, hot-"  
  
"OKAY-okay! I got the concept!" Serenity started with a furious expression on her usually composed features. Marik was rather amused that the mere mentioning of Ryou Bakura could provoke such a change.  
  
"For goodness sake he is about to be murdered and we are talking about his love life..." Serenity scoffed.  
  
That seemed to knock some sense back into Marik. Serenity however, was secretly wondering 'so Ryou has someone he loves after all...it might be someone from his past...or it might be a long lost wife...it could never be me, anyway...'  
  
At this Serenity felt her heart pump painfully in her ribcage. 'He'll never love a guilty preppie like me...I'm not worthy of love...' She thought. All this depression sunk inside her as she turned her attention back to Marik. She felt she needed comfort somehow, and she reached to take her friend's hand in her own. Marik obliged with a startling, tropical smile.  
  
They were both glad to have a friend at a time like this.

* * *

An auburn-haired girl stood impatiently next to the front doors of KaibaCorp. Serenity Wheeler was waiting for her friend. She looked around. It was nighttime, a little after midnight. Even so, lights and holograms of commercials glowed everywhere. It was all accompanied by the outstanding glow of Mercury's Red moon.  
  
Just like the two suns of Mercury had an aquamarine blue shine, the one and only moon of the great planet glowed red. No people lived on the Red Moon because its surface was frozen and stark. Thus, only the scarlet light was the reminder of the cute little planet.  
  
Serenity tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. Were WAS he? They had to go save Ryou before some lunatic attacked him.  
  
Serenity had gone home and changed. Now she was wearing tight, short sorts and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant ponytail. On the sides of her legs were strapped two anesthetic dart guns, a couple of electronic flares and some chips that when thrown they produce red smoke.  
  
Overall, she looked like she was about to go to war. Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps on her left. She made a couple of steps back, afraid that this was a guard. She stopped when she met the sight of none other than Marik, his golden-platinum hair shining and ruffling as hovercrafts flew by.  
  
She noticed what he was wearing. He had black army pants in combination with a black tank top. Around his arms and neck were wrapped black iron jewelry similar to the golden ones he had been wearing before. Attached to his black belt were a dagger, an anesthetic gun, an electronic smoke chip and a torch-chip, which had the use of a torch if thrown on the ground.  
  
Marik looked even more alluring without his doctors' robes, Serenity realized. Now he looked like an independent, majestic ninja, ready to fight his way through anything.  
  
"Marik, why did you wear jewelry?" Serenity inquired quietly "We can't afford you clinging around!"  
  
Marik's lilac eyes glowed with mirth "Not to worry, Serenity, This is my special hologram set. I had it made especially for these cases. Besides...I wouldn't be Marik if I didn't have my jewelry on..."  
  
Serenity just stared. "It-It's a hologram?" she asked, bewildered.  
  
Marik chuckled and nodded. He put his finger on his 'necklace' and serenity could see his digit slip right through it. "O-kaaay..." she said while shaking her head.  
  
Suddenly, Marik grew serious. "Did you bring everything?" he inquired cryptically "Don't forget we need your top access card to enter the lower levels. My inferior access card will be no use."  
  
Serenity smiled a sly grin and shoved her hand in her shorts pocket. It came out with a small, green card. Microchip trails were engraved on its sides and the surface had huge words on it. 'Level A' it said. "How could I forget?" Serenity inquired and Marik smiled mysteriously.  
  
He put his hand on the back of his belt. He took out what looked like a little vial and threw it towards Serenity. She caught it in the air and looked at it.  
  
"What is it?" she asked warily.  
  
"It's a micro-crystal liquid. Just empty it in one of your eyes and wait twenty seconds. Then you'll feel as if something is moving in your eye. The crystals will create a glass layer on top of your eye. It's a camera, actually. It projects the temperature of the environment and can track body heat.'  
  
"Cool" Serenity said and with that she opened the vial. She looked hesitant for a moment, and then she jerked her head backwards and flipped the vial on her open eye. She whimpered a little a Marik helped her relax. After a while, a glow could be seen coming from her right eye.  
  
Serenity watched, bewildered, as letters and lights flew through her eye. "Local temperature: 25 Celsius degrees. WARNING, WARNING. Human temperature detected. WARNING. WARNING. Human being approaching."  
  
Serenity looked at the 'approaching human' called Marik and smiled. "It works! Neat!" she said with a bright smile. "Do you already have one on?" she asked, noticing her friend's glowing eye.  
  
"Yup!" he said, "I always have a backup plan in case something goes wrong! Don't worry, though, it won't!" he smiled slyly and waved towards the door. "Let's go," he said, "We're losing time."  
  
He and Serenity stealthily walked towards the sealed doors. There were no card receptors or locks. It was seemingly impassable.  
  
"First obstacle." Serenity whispered and Marik smirked lightly while searching for something in his pants pocket.  
  
Serenity raised an eyebrow at Marik. "How come you're so good at this?" she inquired.  
  
"I used to work at a hardware shop when I was a kid! I know everything about these gadgets!" Marik whispered as he took out what looked like a brass disk. He pressed it against the door and a small red light flashed repeatedly.  
  
"What is this?" Serenity asked.  
  
"Just watch..." Marik mysteriously answered as he tensely watched the small light. Unexpectedly, the small light turned green and Marik smiled evilly.  
  
"Time to play..." he said and Serenity watched, bewildered as Marik walked stepped towards the door and actually walked through it! Serenity's jaw fell to the floor. She couldn't move and suddenly realized Marik was not with her any more. She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Marik's head pop through the door.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" he asked "Come on! Walk through the door!"  
  
Serenity, aghast as she was, listened to her friend and advanced towards the door. She didn't feel anything when she walked through the metal. When she stepped on the other side, she saw Marik crawling on the floor and looking around cautiously. He turned towards her and motioned for her to duck. She did and then she crawled next to him, hiding behind the shelter of a metal crate.  
  
"Marik what was that?" she whispered in shock.  
  
Marik gave her a sly grin. "Kaiba may be smart but he is also predictable. That disk was one of my own creations. It absorbs and transforms the molecules of any surface in order to turn it into a hologram."  
  
Serenity just stared. "Have you done this before?" she inquired.  
  
Marik snickered "you don't have to be a robber in order to create this Serenity. You just have to be an engineer."  
  
Serenity shrugged and focused her attention on her eye-camera. The temperature warning was flashing red, indicating that there was someone apart from Marik and herself around there.  
  
Marik read her expressions and answered immediately. "Look carefully at that door."  
  
She creped and stole a glance around the corner of the crate. Marik was right, there stood a guard in front of the huge door. This door had a 'level A' card receptor at the left side. Serenity smiled. This was easy. All they had to do was get rid of the guard.  
  
"Marik! I have an idea!" she said, "I'll shoot that guy and you take his clothes. Then it'll be easier to distract the guards without raising suspicion."  
  
Marik nodded and Serenity crouched a bit so she could have a better target.  
  
'Smokey' she thought. She grabbed the anesthetic gun from its holster and aimed at the guard. A swift 'click' was heard accompanied by the sound of a body hitting the ground. Serenity turned back and motioned for Marik to come out of his hiding place.  
  
They gave a high-five and rushed towards the door and the fallen guard. Serenity fumbled for her access card while her handsome friend made noises of disgust while trying to undress the security guard. Serenity snickered and waited for Marik to get dressed.  
  
He told her to turn around when he was ready and she chuckled at what she saw. The guard's alfit was much too big for Marik. He swam in the big vest that read "KaibaCorp Security" at the back. He had a gray hat on which had the KaibaCorp sign engraved on it.  
  
Laser guns were added to his belt and his black pants had been replaced with gray ones. The guard had been dressed with his own clothes. How convenient.  
  
He nodded towards Serenity and she placed the card in the reception. She put her finger in a nearby tab and the computer flashed an "Access Granted. Welcome Ms. Wheeler" sign.  
  
Serenity smiled as the door in front of them parted open.  
  
"Step behind me." Marik said cautiously "There may be guards inside."  
  
She rushed to hide behind him but it turned out that no one was inside once the doors opened. With a last disgusted look at the fallen guard's direction, Marik strolled inside. He took a smoke-chip from his belt and threw it forward. In a moment, the great hall was full of smoke and clear laser beams could be seen around.  
  
"Shit" serenity whispered as she came to stand next Marik.  
  
"Don't worry. That's not our route, anyway." He told her and turned to walk carefully towards the elevator platforms. When he reached the first and –obviously laser-free- elevator he stepped on the platform. Serenity came after him.  
  
"They are keeping Ryou in the lower levels." Marik told her as he asked for her card. He pushed the card in the elevator operator panel and then he asked for Serenity's fingerprints. She obliged and Marik instantly started typing the number of the floor he wanted to go to.  
  
"Why the lower levels?" Serenity asked the preoccupied Marik.  
  
Suddenly, she felt the elevator move and though she could hear no sound, she saw the platform move downwards. Marik turned to look at her.  
  
"They keep all specimens in the lower levels. Ryou is probably kept in a soundproof, guarded room for dangerous specimens." He said begrudgingly. He too didn't like the way Kaiba treated Ryou.  
  
Serenity silently cursed. Marik looked at her questioningly.  
  
"So this is what Kaiba calls ''the guestrooms"? How sick! And then he says that Ryou's crazy!" she said in quiet ire.  
  
"I'll say..." Marik said.  
  
The could both feel the elevator slow its descend. Serenity started to worry if they would meet any guards. She saw Marik roughly take his anesthetic gun out and she mimicked his actions.  
  
When the elevator stopped all was silent. The temperature tracers in their eyes showed no warnings. The red moonlight was long forgotten inside the facility and dark spotlights illuminated all.  
  
Marik stood protectively in front of Serenity. He walked stealthily next to the wall and turned to peek around the corner.  
  
"That's our queue," he told his friend. It's the corridor with the cells! Ryou must be in one of them, so you won't have any problems. I'll distract the guards! Get Ryou out while we're away...I'll meet you in the main entrance." He instructed.  
  
Serenity was feeling very anxious. Her stomach tightened painfully. The prospect of staying alone in that place was not something to look forward to. She nodded, however, and thought of Ryou's innocent face.  
  
He looked at her seriously. "Be careful." He told her and patted her shoulder comfortingly. Then, in a flash, he had turned around the corner. She felt her heart beat savagely as she peeked around to see what was going on.  
  
She could see Marik walking casually towards a couple of guards who were chatting. One of them was holding a laser shotgun while the other was playing with a dagger. How pathetic! They didn't even notice Marik coming.  
  
Suddenly, she saw her friend speed up to an urgent sprint.  
  
"Hey guys!!" he shouted loudly. The two guards turned towards the newcomer and aimed their guns at him automatically. When they noticed Marik's guard suit they lowered their weapons and grinned sheepishly.  
  
"Hey!" one of them said "You scared us there, buddy!" he said.  
  
Marik chuckled in a gruff voice. "You guys better come outside! Some robber has tried to come through the main entrance!" he urgently said. Serenity understood his plan at once. 'The robber' was the fallen entrance guard. Marik was trying to lure these guys out!  
  
"Are you serious?" one of them said, completely falling for Marik's trap. The handsome boy's charm was truly irresistible.  
  
"As a heart attack! I've put this guy to sleep temporarily, but you better come and check it out!" Marik said.  
  
"Okay! Oh, wait...we can't leave our guard..."  
  
Marik seemed to sense the doubt in the air and rushed to change their mind. "Guys, you're my only shot! I can't find anybody else! Imagine what Kaiba will say well we show him what we did! Maybe he'll promote us!"  
  
Serenity shook her head. The number of surprises Marik hid was outstanding...  
  
"You're right man! Let's go!" the guard said excitedly. Marik nodded and smiled inwardly. There were two things he liked about guards: their level of gullibility and their level of ambition. He took advantage of them both.  
  
Serenity soon realized they were heading her way. She rushed to hide in a dark alcove and could only hope they wouldn't notice her. Marik ran behind the two guards and stealthily grabbed a smoke-chip from his belt. He threw it forward and it landed at the spot Serenity was hiding. In a moment, the corridor was full of smoke.  
  
"What the heck?!" a guard said.  
  
"Oh shit! " Marik cried in fake exasperation "He must have recovered! Hurry!!"  
  
The two guards listened and they passed next to serenity without even noticing her. Marik followed and winked at her as he passed. She smiled promptly and watched their retreating figures.  
  
When they were gone with the elevator, Serenity turned and walked fearlessly in the previously guarded corridor. All the darkness made her feel uncomfortable and she rushed to light an electronic flare. Everything around her was suddenly illuminated and she could see clearly.  
  
All around her were glass-walled cells. One next to the other, the cells formed a great alignment with progressed endlessly in front of her. There were cells on her left and on her right. 'Where to start? How am I supposed to find Ryou?' she desperately thought.  
  
There were no sounds in the corridor due to the soundproof glass walls. In was a bit creepy. Serenity waved her white electronic flare around, inspecting each and every cell. What she saw almost made her scream and gag.  
  
The cells hosted specimens of unfortunate experiments. Most of them were monsters. Like three headed little girls or people merged with robots. It was overall disgusting. She felt pity swell inside her heart. What was this torture? How heartless could a man get? Fortunately, most creatures were resting and didn't see her make grimaces of disgust.  
  
She progressed in the long corridor. What she saw next made her freeze. In the distance, she could see a guard on a chair. Her eye-tracer warned her, it was surely a guard. She readied her anesthetic gun and aimed cautiously at the figure.  
  
As she stealthily approached, she noticed the guard was seated outside a single glass cell. 'Oh shit.' She solely thought.  
  
She looked at the figure from a distance and she realized his chest was heaving evenly up and down. How could a guy sleep and SNORE inside a dark corridor full of monsters. So that's why he didn't notice her light. When she thought she was close enough she threw her electronic flare away and approached the snoring guard. By observing his figure, she saw that he was holding a big bottle of alcohol. She shook her head dismissively and cautiously walked towards the cell whose access he was guarding.  
  
It was very dark so she couldn't clearly make out what was inside. She bent her head towards the glass but was careful not to touch it in case an alarm went off. A sudden jerk from the sleeping guard made her jump out of her skin.  
  
"Oh the heck with it!" she thought 'he's already asleep'. She stretched her hand and aimed the gun straight at the man's neck. With a quick pull of the trigger the anesthetic dart was stuck on his skin. He made a sudden movement and then his body went limp. He fell unceremoniously on the ground, taking the chair with him. Serenity let out a breath she never knew she had been holding. She turned her attention back into the cell and observed the blue soft spotlight that fell inside.  
  
A figure was stretched out on a bed, the slow movement of a heaving chest was outlined with the blue glow. Serenity gasped as she realized what she was staring at. Silver-white strands of long hair cascaded down the side of the bed. A long, white skinned arm was stretched towards the floor- his finger ever so slightly touching the glass ground.  
  
It was Ryou. Serenity couldn't move. She felt exactly like she had when she first saw him in the lab. Would she always be damned to watch him through a glass barrier?  
  
She was roughly pulled away from her thoughts when a distant sound was heard. It was men shouting and they were coming her way!  
  
Serenity desperately looked around, trying to think of something to do. Damn! Were was Marik when you needed him! He'd know what to do!  
  
'Okay, girl! Try to relax' Serenity thought to herself 'First we wake him up!' she thought. She looked around the glass wall and saw a microchip reception. 'That must be the lock!! But where is the microchip key?'  
  
Suddenly a thought hit her. She turned to the immobilized guard and checked him over. Bending down and turning his limp form over, she saw a couple of microchips glinting on his belt. She grabbed all the chips roughly and ran to the lock. Her heart was beating savagely in her chest as she could hear the shouts and voices approaching.  
  
She tried the first and second chip on the lock but there was no response. Desperately, she grabbed the last chip and shoved it forcefully on the reception. It flashed a green light and suddenly the glass wall opened. Ryou seemed to stir in his sleep and Serenity's breath caught in her throat. She quickly stepped in the cell and looked around. There was nothing in there except a bed and the ventilation form which the light came in.  
  
The voices were coming dangerously closer and serenity didn't know what to do. She stepped away from the now open glass wall defensively and it automatically closed after the sensors couldn't sense her.  
  
Serenity turned to look at the sleeping angel and felt frozen to the spot. His silver hair fell lazily down his face and his swan neck was arched delicately in a resting position. Oh how she longed to touch that neck...how she longed to run her hands through that hair...  
  
Her eye-sensor warned her of a nearby human presence. She knew it wasn't Ryou, though. She couldn't hear a thing through the now closed soundproof glass.  
  
Unable to think of a better place to hide and seeing as she had only five seconds to do it, Serenity followed her feral instincts and did the only thing she could think of. She jumped on Ryou's bed. The poor boy was obviously frightened to death.  
  
His chocolate eyes snapped open in frightened innocence. His white mane waved around his face as he whipped his head around the room. Suddenly, he felt a rough tug on his naked torso. Before he knew it, he was pinned on the bed. Something moved beside him and he felt the white bed covers slide over him. He urgently turned around and saw the stranger laying beside him.  
  
Auburn bangs framed a delicate face, which was abstract and blurry in the blue light. He recognized her immediately.  
  
"Sere-" his words were muffled by her hands. She was covering his mouth, her shining eyes wide open and pleading.  
  
"Please don't speak" she whispered desperately "I'm so sorry...this is for your own good." She waited for a reaction and saw him nod slowly. She carefully removed her hands and he spoke  
  
"What happened?" he asked in a bewildered manner.  
  
Serenity's eye-tracer warned her of a human presence up close. "Don't speak! Act like your sleeping!" she ordered urgently as she dove under the covers. She attached herself on his body and wrapped her arms around him protectively.  
  
"Pretend like you're asleep!" she repeated in a whisper and Ryou listened to her. He closed his confused eyes and adopted a casual sleeping position.  
  
Serenity was suddenly very aware of their position. She had a steel grasp on his waist and could feel his whole body relax under her. She could almost feel his toned muscles as his breathing feigned that of a sleeping man.  
  
Her body temperature was slowly getting dangerously hot and she suddenly felt like she needed an ice-bath to relax her pumping hormones. Every fiber of her body screamed for her to touch him but her brain was still left in a state of paralyzation. 'Oh sure...what a great time to focus on this...' she thought.  
  
The soundproof cell didn't allow her to hear a thing from the outside world but she knew the other guards were probably checking out on their fallen drunkard friend.  
  
Serenity suddenly heard the sound of the glass wall open and her already erratic heartbeat intensified even more. She could feel Ryou's body stiffen beside her and although she was covered with the sheets, she suddenly felt very exposed.  
  
Unconsciously, her grasp on Ryou's body tightened and her heartbeat throbbed painfully next to him.  
  
Slow, lazy footsteps were heard and Serenity suddenly heard a harsh voice pierce through the room.  
  
"HEY YOU!" the shadow shouted at Ryou.  
  
The boy acted as though he jerked awake from his sleep. He sat up, thus covering Serenity's unseen form.  
  
"Get up!!" the person commanded and Ryou obliged. He slowly slid away from the covers and escaped the girl's death grip. He acted as though he threw the covers back on the bed but he really threw them on serenity, thus making her body look like a pile of sheets.  
  
Ryou stood questioningly in front of the dark stranger. He couldn't see the man's face but he distantly recognized his voice.  
  
"Good..." the man said "I wanted you to be standing when I slaughter you!" the man maliciously spat and Serenity instantly recognized the man 'Kaiba' she thought. So Marik was right all along!  
  
Ryou recognized him too, obviously, and voiced serenity's thoughts. "Kaiba?" he said in a bewildered tone "what are you doing here?"  
  
Kaiba laughed maliciously and the hair on the back of serenity's neck stood erect. "Why killing you, of course."  
  
Ryou instantly backed away, his instincts telling him Kaiba was not joking at all. He was worried about serenity too...what was happening?  
  
Serenity was desperate and felt her whole world swirl around her. She watched, despondent, as Kaiba's shadow raised a dagger in the air. This was it! It was the end! With one movement, Ryou was going to die!!  
  
"Goodbye, forever!" Kaiba cruelly shrieked and brought the knife down. Ryou managed to escaped the blade just in time. He made a somersault to the left and out of his cell. Kaiba yelled a battle cry, enraged and lunged after Ryou.  
  
"Oh my God!!" Serenity thought as she realized she had run out of anesthetics. They were lost, doomed!! Kaiba grabbed Ryou's throat and started choking him slowly.  
  
"NOT SO FAST, KAIBA!!" a yell was heard echoing through the long corridor.  
  
Serenity felt a huge feeling of hope run through her. Marik! He had come finally!!  
  
"Marik?" Kaiba dumbly inquired, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the mysterious shadow.  
  
"LET HIM GO KAIBA! LET HIM GO NOW!" Marik yelled furiously. Kaiba got a dazed and pained expression on his face. He seemed to be struggling. Then, curiously, he set Ryou on the ground, obeying Marik yet again! The young boy panted and clutched at his bruised neck.  
  
Kaiba seemed furious! "Why can't I deny you?!" he screamed at Marik. It looked as though Kaiba was about to say more but the swish of a dart ran through the air and he was unconscious in a matter of seconds. Ryou stared, overwhelmed first at Kaiba's limp form and then at the guard's body.  
  
Marik rushed to the frail boy's side and serenity untangled herself from beneath the covers.  
  
"Are you alright?" Marik urgently asked Ryou as he steadied the other boy's form to a standing position. Ryou seemed taken back for a moment.  
  
"Yes...Thank you" he finally said "I'm fine...Serenity!"  
  
Serenity was standing next to her friends, glaring at Kaiba's unconscious form. She turned to Ryou when he addressed her, his innocent orbs capturing her own.  
  
"Are you okay?" Ryou and Serenity asked each other at the same time. Marik seemed at a loss for words, so he settled on tugging at both his friends' hands.  
  
"C'mon! Let's go!"  
  
The companions nodded and followed Marik's sprint to the end of the corridor.  
  
"Marik! What happened?" Serenity asked loudly as they were running.  
  
They turned swiftly at the corner and rushed onto the elevator platform. Marik wordlessly indicated for Serenity to place her card and fingerprints on the panel. Ryou was staring, confused and panting.  
  
When Serenity was done, Marik immediately started typing in the control panel. He finally stopped and all three youngsters felt the platform move slightly. They watched as the elevator started going upwards and Marik turned to his friends.  
  
"I was showing 'the robber' to the other guards when Kaiba showed up from no where. I had the time to hide but the other guards didn't...he shot them. And it wasn't anesthetic darts if you know what I mean...'  
  
Serenity gulped. "Anyway, more guards came after him as he rushed to this elevator. He probably got rid of them in that freaky corridor..." Marik continued.  
  
"So these were the voices..." Serenity mused. Marik chose to ignore her mumbling.  
  
"I tried to come after him as fast as I could, without getting shot! Thank God I wasn't too late...' Marik said while gazing thoughtfully at Ryou.  
  
The white-haired boy looked ever so grateful. He was about to speak when the sudden pause of the elevator stopped him.  
  
"Let's go, hurry!" Marik instructed as all three of them ran to the entrance doors. They passed the corpses of the shot guards and serenity whimpered in spite herself. Ryou comfortingly took her hand in his as they ran, and she immediately felt better.  
  
The three youngsters continued their sprint to the outside doors. Marik ran through them and Ryou stared, bewildered and slightly afraid. Serenity nudged him slightly and pulled at his hand. Soon they had walked through the door and the ancient boy looked a bit faint.  
  
Marik rushed outside, at the bridge-roads of Mercury. Hovercrafts floated around them and serenity watched in silent amusement as Ryou's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Marik suddenly took a controller from his belt and pressed a button. Instantly, a black hover-car flew next to them.  
  
"Get on!! Quick!" Marik yelled as he dove in the drivers' seat. Serenity dragged Ryou along. "Um..." the composed boy started, looking a bit hesitant "I don't think..."  
  
"Ryou get on!!!" Serenity pleaded and Ryou's innocent eyes widened in exasperation. He surely couldn't deny her. He let Serenity push him in the floating vehicle. She slipped beside him at the back seat.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts because we are going for a riiiide..." Marik said in a funny voice. Serenity chuckled, suddenly feeling light-hearted: she was out of that freaky place, after all! With Ryou by her side, what could possibly go wrong?  
  
She turned her gaze on the confused and innocent young boy. She suddenly felt the urge to jump in his strong arms and assure him everything was fine, but she fought it.  
  
She settled on saying "don't worry, Ryou, the answers are coming." And smiling reassuringly.  
  
Ryou smiled back with an unexpected brightness. Marik's voice broke through the air, suddenly. "It will take time for Kaiba to recover from that dart. Besides, he'll have to take care of all those bodies and justify their deaths...Then he'll be coming back after Ryou." Marik's exotic eyes turned towards the white-haired boy through the mirror. Serenity gasped.  
  
"Why is he doing this, anyway?" she asked thoughtfully.  
  
"I don't know, my friend..." Marik mused "but I do know one thing! You're the only one he didn't see, Serenity! He doesn't know you were with us, so he won't come looking for us in your house!"  
  
Serenity's eyes widened in understanding. "Let's go to my place, then! Ryou will be safe for a while there!" she exclaimed.  
  
Marik nodded and suddenly his serious expression transformed to a sly grin. "Besides...I believe our friend needs something proper to wear, again!" he said.  
  
Ryou blushed crimson, suddenly remembering he was only wearing a pair of silk blue boxers. Serenity blushed too as she noticed this. Marik simply snickered.  
  
"Next stop: Serenity's home!" he shouted. 


	4. The spirit

**_IMPORTANT NOTE!!  
  
1. Bakura doesn't know Marik, after all._**

**_ 2.Bakura might seem a little OOC in general, but I don't really want to analyze the way he became a normal guy in this fic. Pretend he just became normal after all. There are some hints that imply he used to be different, but nothing major._  
  
Thanks so much for reviewing!!I promise the this story will be intriguing! Tell me if you want me to answer reviews Here comes the story!**  
  
"Ahhhh!!!" was heard the distant shriek of a certain albino boy. "Get this thing off of me!!"  
  
As expected, Ryou Bakura came tumbling out the bathroom. The automatic doors parted and he ran through, practically falling on Marik as he did. Ryou was frantically waving his right hand around, a greenish yellow flubber attached to his forearm.  
  
"Calm down there, buddy, it's just the sponge!" Marik said reassuringly, while patting the white haired boys back. Ryou, however, didn't look really comforted. Ever since they came to Serenity's apartment last night, Ryou was faced with one challenge after another. Marik and Serenity could only watch in amusement, as the ancient boy's eyes would always widen in disbelief and awe.  
  
First there was the red moonlight. Unbeknownst to the others, Serenity had once lived in Earth and knew what white moonlight was like, but she still couldn't convince Ryou that the moon of Mercury was red. After the shock of facing 'flying tubes' as he would call hovercrafts, Ryou faced another surprise by the realization that they lived above the clouds, and could not see the ground of the planet.  
  
Marik had tried to explain that the Catacombs where on the ground, but it would take a lot more than that to convince Ryou. The reticent boy had suddenly been turned on frightened and shy mode.  
  
They had a good nights' sleep seeing as Ryou found Serenity's apartment quite normal compared to the outside world. Marik suspected that the boy was just too tired and had slept without further comments.  
  
Now, however, the morning had come and Ryou was full of energy. Consequently he was full of questions.  
  
"What do you mean it's THE SPONGE?! It bit me!!" Ryou shouted in a very uncharacteristic way "I was just washing my hands when it attacked me!!"  
  
Marik chuckled dismissively at Ryou's wide and innocent eyes. "It wasn't trying to bite you, pal; it was just trying to wash you!! It's automatic..."  
  
"But it's slimy and gooey! EWW!! Take it off, I beg you!!" Ryou cried desperately. He ran around the dark lounge wearing the dark blue pajamas that Serenity had given him. It made a wonderful contrast with his silky white skin.  
  
"Take it off!! Take it OFF!!!!" he screamed at the grinning Marik.  
  
Just then, there was a loud noise coming from the kitchen and Serenity immediately came to help Ryou. Her green nightgown waved around her as she reached her troubled friend.  
  
"RYOU! You can't pry it off!! You have to take it back to the bathroom!! Then it will leave automatically!"  
  
Serenity grabbed her friend's free arm and led him to the bathroom. "Stretch your hand." She instructed. As he did what he was told, the ''gooey demon from hell' as he referred to it, released his hand and stuck on the wall.  
  
"Well that was close..." serenity whispered and turned to look at her startled friend, who was checking if his arm functioned right "Are you ok?" she asked with a tone of mirth.  
  
Ryou nodded and shot a look of pure disgust at the flubber-sponge.  
  
"Jerk!" he murmured.  
  
"Sorry? What did you say?"  
  
"Nothing..." he said, his innocent eyes sparkling with trouble.  
  
Serenity snickered and gently took hold of the handsome boy's arm. "C'mon!" she told him and elegantly walked back to the lounge.  
  
Marik was sitting on an armchair, apparently doing something on his palm- computer. "What are you doing?" Ryou inquired like a curious and innocent little child.  
  
"I'm reading a book." Marik casually said, while clicking something on the touch-screen. Marik looked as though he was about to start explaining but a gesture from Ryou stopped him.  
  
"Hold it!" the boy said with a sigh "I don't wanna know." Marik shook his head in obvious sympathy and resumed his reading. Serenity stepped towards the closed windows of the house.  
  
"Open windows." She ordered the computer and Ryou could only watched as the black glass layers that covered the windows from outside slid up. A soft blue shine was entering through the window. Serenity seemed to notice the albino boy's expression of silent awe. "We have two suns in Mercury, Ryou" Serenity amiably said. Ryou glanced towards her with a questioning look. "They are both blue."  
  
Ryou nodded slowly and approached the window. He stood next to Serenity and gazed outside the huge window. She smiled at him and followed his gaze. He was looking at the suns. "It's beautiful..." the silver-white haired boy said. The abrupt change of atmosphere found its way to Marik, who shot a knowing glance towards his two friends.  
  
Serenity nodded slowly. Ryou would sometimes fall into this kind of romantic trance. It was as if he was remembering some distant dream. Could it be he was thinking about that girl he had told Marik he loved? Maybe it was some ancient goddess that he had forever dreamed of...  
  
'Why do I care so much, damn it!!? ?' Serenity desperately thought 'Why do I feel like I'm gonna die if I don't look at him? Why does it feel so hot when I'm near him? I've never felt like this before! What is wrong with me? I wish you were here to help me, Joey...'  
  
Just then, she noticed Ryou had stepped even closer to the window. He just sat there peacefully and stared outside. His amusing adventures with 25th century technology were temporarily forgotten. Now he had that wistful look again.  
  
He wasn't perfect, Serenity knew that much. He was an old man who found his way in the most peculiar of places and times. He was no romantic prince charming. He was just a poor spirit, stranded suddenly in an unknown world, alone and helpless.  
  
'He must be in great pain...' Serenity thought, and suddenly had the urge to fall in his arms and comfort him. She just wanted to tell him everything would be okay, and that he's not alone anymore... But it would be improper. Ryou needed time, after all. He had lost his loved one, and Serenity could never replace her...Maybe it was wrong to have such feelings.  
  
Ryou's thin frame was seated on the other armchair, outlined by the blue sunshine. His white hair fell gracefully in spikes, highlighted by the cyan light. How could it be that a man of his age could hold such innocence? Extraordinary!  
  
Marik left his computer down and stood up. He stood behind Ryou's sitting form with his arms folded. He looked thoughtful and shared Ryou's gaze out the window. Serenity observed them both. They were very different but quite similar in a way.  
  
Marik was swift, lively and young. His fiery gaze was petrifying and his exotic aura could make anything succumb to his whims. Ryou, on the other hand, though supposedly young, was composed and submissive. He was very relaxed and casual in his moves- when not forced to deal with auto-sponges (!) Ryou's stare was expectant and innocent with an aura as fresh and unnoticed as a feather's.  
  
Yet both of them shared wisdom and reflex. Both of them had a spark of confidence with an unknown origin. Both of them were tropical, each in their very own way. Mark: the master of seduction and charm. Ryou: the one with infinite experience and wisdom. With their forces combined, nothing could stand in their way.  
  
"Do you remember anything, Ryou? From your past?" Marik suddenly asked in a reflexive tone.  
  
Serenity was instantly very interested in the conversation. Maybe she would find out about Ryou's mysterious beloved! Her heart started beating faster at that thought...it was curious; the way the mere thought of him could make her insides spasm nervously.  
  
"I do..." Ryou quietly said. "I remember when I was young..." he slowly touched his cheek and mumbled something incoherent "I was just like this...it's been so long..." he continued "For a second time...I have my softest years back..." he murmured.  
  
'Such pain and confusion...' Serenity thought as she remembered his tired expression as an old man 'he just wanted to rest...' she mused.  
  
"I remember when I grew older...I was an architect, I designed buildings." He continued thoughtfully, almost wistfully "Then I became 106 years old...I remember it clearly...that was when I found the ring."  
  
Marik's attention seemed to focus especially on this, but Serenity didn't understand what the ring had to do with this.  
  
"That's when things started happening..." his voice faded out lightly "And they locked me up. They thought I was crazy.  
  
"What kind of things started happening? Why did they think you were crazy?" Serenity inquired curiously while approaching her reminiscing friend.  
  
Ryou turned to look at her sadly "I'll tell you some other time, Serena..." he told her. "All I remember after that was that...I became 120 years old and...that's it."  
  
Serenity suddenly felt as though she had been viciously stabbed. Didn't he trust her? What did he think of her, that she wasn't worthy? Why?  
  
"I see..." Marik said thoughtfully. 'That must be when they locked him in the cryogenic capsule. Maybe I should not tell and upset him yet. We'll tell him later...Besides, I feel I need to tell him that I can see this 'Yami' person...I have a feeling that 'Yami' is responsible for Ryou's getting locked up in the first place...' Marik stole a quick glance at Serenity. She seemed on the verge of tears and Marik knew why 'I'll tell Ryou he can trust us with his secret. Serenity would never think he was crazy...'  
  
Ryou abruptly stood up and stepped aside. Marik took this as a clue that the conversation was over. He slowly returned to his reading position on the armchair. Serenity just stayed there, frozen and sad. She was still gazing at the window, but now she was more like glaring at it.  
  
Ryou noticed her troubled state and approached her. His observant experiences warned him that something was wrong. He reached and lightly touched her arm. No response.  
  
Ryou smiled slightly and bent down to the girl's ear. He could feel her skin standing on end by his warm breath. "I promise I'll tell you, Serena..." he whispered in her ear. He observed her immobilized gaze as it turned to meet his innocent one. The hair on her arms and neck was stretched with shivers.  
  
Serenity was as still as stone. She was completely frozen. This man was unbelievable. He had the most honest and penetrating gaze she had ever seen. Unbelievable was the way he understood other people, and the way others behaved. How could his innocent nature decipher all meanings of body language and expression? It betrayed his old age and experience.  
  
She silently nodded and averted her gaze, unable to hold onto his unmoving orbs for much longer. When she felt his warm presence leave her, a surge of relief and disappointment filled her at the same time. She turned to look at Marik who was seemingly unaware of everything. Something in the back of her mind, though, told her Marik had watched it all. Grr...  
  
She had just started staring out the window again, drowning in her thoughts of Ryou, when a sudden yelp of surprise was heard.  
  
Serenity whipped around instantly, only to meet the sight of a guffawing Marik and a despondent Ryou. It seemed Ryou had decided to sit on the couch. Not just any couch, though. He had sat on the 'Home Coiffeur for all uses' seat. The metallic helmet was now firmly attached to the boy's head.  
  
"AHHH!!!" he yelled as Marik laughed even louder "It's pulling my hair!! TAKE IT OFF!!! HELP!!! HELP!!"  
  
Serenity couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the usually composed, innocent man writhe and thrash around in exasperation. She was startled out of her wits when the poor boy aimed a killer glare at the laughing Marik. Ryou Bakura GLARING?? No way!  
  
It all happened so fast. Serenity and Marik had just reached the desperate Ryou when the Home-Coiffeur helmet released his head. Ryou limply fell on the couch like a bag. Marik and Serenity just stared at their friend. Then, simultaneously, they both started laughing. Serenity was laughing so hard that she was crying. Marik doubled over and was soon laughing while hitting the floor with his fists.  
  
Slowly, almost in a frightened way, Ryou raised his hand and touched his hair. He touched the soft strands and realized they were...curly? He desperately grabbed his head as his friends kept laughing even harder.  
  
He could feel it: the soft bun and the curls that fell gracefully down his face. He grabbed a stray band and looked at it. It was sparkling with silver glitter.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" was heard the inevitable reaction.  
  
Ryou hesitantly stepped inside the closet-like room. Serenity's head popped into the room.  
  
"Just relax!" she said while blushing slightly. Ryou stiffly nodded. The curls had been removed from his hair and now he kept running his hand through his white mane every 5 seconds. He was probably checking on it.  
  
Serenity closed the door, locking the boy alone in the room. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in front of him.  
  
"Weight 130lbs. Height 6 feet. Size: 38." A computerized voice said. Ryou glanced around nervously. Serenity had told him to say something.  
  
"C-Casual." Ryou stuttered. He suddenly felt a cold breeze wash through his body. The next thing he knew was that he was dressed in a green blazer and brown pants. He blinked. Well that was different from changing in KaibaCorp, were he was forced to change 'manually' in a cupboard...  
  
"I-I'm Ready!" he ordered and the 'closet' doors snapped open. Ryou slowly walked outside. Serenity's smiling face greeted him. She was dressed too, in a short sky blue dress and a pink jacket to cover. Ryou smiled back at her.  
  
"C'mon, Ryou, I'll teach you the basics of a 25th century home!" Serenity happily exclaimed and Ryou nodded eagerly.  
  
From the living room, two sparkling lavender eyes were observing them. Marik shook his head dismissively. Those two were so blatantly in love...it showed from their carefree behavior. Even when Kaiba had tried to murder them yesterday, Serenity and Ryou were just too absorbed with each other to realize the seriousness of the situation. They might be safe in Serenity's home for now but it was temporary. Marik knew that they would have to leave soon-but where to go? Kaiba had people everywhere; he would surely get them. The authorities were no solution. Kaiba had people there too...Dang!  
  
About Kaiba...what was that telepathy issue about? 'How come I can read his thoughts?' Marik thought 'And why does he listen to what I suggest? I'm just an ant in his way, technically... Why does he obey to everything I say? Am I losing my mind, now? As if I didn't have enough problems, already...'  
  
Marik shook his head desperately to shake the unpleasant thoughts away and turned his attention to something much more interesting: Ryou's past. 'Ryou said that people thought he was crazy after he got the ring...I bet he kept talking to that spirit that only he and I can see...'  
  
Marik held his head in both hands as chuckles and giggles echoed from the kitchen. 'That Yami person...I wonder what his story is...I wish I could see him again! I really wish he would come out...' Marik thought.  
  
As he thought this wish, an abrupt yelp was heard from the kitchen. "Just a minute!" Ryou's voice told Serenity and the boy came panting out the kitchen door. Marik stared, transfixed as a translucent figure followed Ryou to the corridor.  
  
Marik instantly pretended to be asleep so as not to let Ryou know he could see the ghost.  
  
"What the heck are you doing out her, Yami? Not yet!" Ryou's commanding, whispering voice floated around. Ryou cautiously glanced around and was glad to see Marik was asleep. His secret was safe for now.  
  
"I just felt something pull me out." The 'Yami' person said. Marik could feel the spirit's crystal gaze settle on his 'sleeping form'.  
  
"Get back in, Yami!" Ryou pleaded. "I don't want them to think...I don't want her to think...please..."  
  
"I know, I know...I'll just take some fresh air..." Yami said in a strangely submissive voice. Ryou sighed and reluctantly agreed. Soon, the sound of the closing kitchen door was heard. Marik suddenly felt a cold breeze surround him and blow next to him.  
  
"I know you're awake, pretty boy, so there's no use in faking it." A stony voice commented, so much unlike the brotherly tone he had used with Ryou. Marik cursed inwardly and slowly opened his eyes. As he had expected, Yami was standing on top of him. It was the mirror image, the actual body of Ryou Bakura with a different personality. 'Yami' s' eyes were harsh and pained, not innocent. His white hair stuck out with untamed spikes in various places and he was a bit taller than Ryou.  
  
Growing uncomfortable with a spirit standing on top of him and eyeing him maliciously, Marik stood up. Surprised, Marik realized he had almost the same height with 'Yami'. Weird... he could have sworn that the stranger was taller... The wraith spoke again:  
  
"I know you can see me...I can...feel it..." he said mysteriously while eyeing Marik suspiciously "So why did you call me?"  
  
Marik was surprised at this. Called? 'I just wished I could see him... What? Can I also summon spirits now?' he thought. "C-Called?" he inquired a little more stiffly than he'd intended.  
  
"Well, duh..." the spirit said while rolling his eyes. With a swift movement, he stepped towards Marik. The exotic boy reflexively made a step backwards, thinking the spirit would crash onto him. The results were quite different. Yami passed through the boy and continued to walk casually around. Marik, on the other hand, was immobilized. All his hair had stretched on end and his heart was beating rapidly. He fought to calm his throbbing blood 'Note to self...' he thought 'Never walk through spirits.'  
  
"Of course you called me, you idiot. I don't know how THE HELL you did it, but you managed. Only Ryou can do that....So what's with you?"  
  
Marik looked thunderstruck. "I-I called you?" he repeated dumbly.  
  
"Eesh..." the spirit smirked "He's a slow one..."  
  
Marik shook his head violently as though to wake for a dream. Since the spirit had magically heard his wish and transported here, he might as well ask what he wanted, right?  
  
"I wanted to know about your past." Marik said steadily, his persuasive gaze meeting the spirit's icy one "In short" Marik continued "What's with your case? And... What is your name, after all? I heard Ryou call you 'Yami'"  
  
The ghost nodded and obliged to answer quietly, much to Marik's surprise. Apart from overly powerful businessmen, were ancient spirits obeying him now?  
  
"I can't remember anything about my life before I met Ryou. I know I was probably cursed to be locked in the golden ring; I could figure out that much...I don't know why or how, though. I wish I knew who did it...so I could make them pay... I swear to my rotting corpse that they'd pay..." the spirit's gaze became steely and overly cruel. Marik nodded quietly in understanding. He let the spirit continue.  
  
"All I remember is meeting Ryou when he was really old...we shared his body. Other people saw the change in our behavior and took it as a sign of danger...they locked Ryou away... I wish I had tried harder to protect him, but I was still so angry back then...then, it was like we died. I don't remember anything after Ryou turned 120... Just slumber. We were asleep."  
  
Marik understood, but he still wanted to know more about the spirit's past. Maybe there was a link as to why Kaiba was so desperate to kill Ryou: for the spirit that rested inside him...Was it possible? "What about your life before Ryou? Before you were trapped in the ring?" Marik asked hesitantly- he didn't want to anger the spirit.  
  
"I can't remember. I can't remember a thing! Not even a flashback. Not even a dream...Every time I force myself to remember, it hurts. It feels as though my head is about to explode...I can't focus." The spirit suddenly ceased his pained gaze and turned to Marik with an accusing glare.  
  
"Why do you want to know, mortal?"  
  
Marik was a bit taken aback by the sudden offense. What was that change of behavior? 'This person must have great rage and insecurity inside him...He is afraid to show himself and his feelings...I guess he talks to me because he has no choice...I summoned him, right?' Marik thought.  
  
"Somebody tried to kill Ryou yesterday, but it seems a bit absurd to try and murder someone so fanatically just because he was called a lunatic 6 centuries ago... I wonder if they want to get rid of you instead of him...Kaiba seems very anxious to make sure everyone is convinced that Ryou's ring NEVR glows...maybe he knows about you ...Or your hidden memories..." Marik said. The spirit's attention snapped instantly.  
  
"I saw that guy try to kill Ryou yesterday! We share the same body, remember? I see what he sees...What do you mean they might want my memories? I have none!"  
  
"Exactly! And it hurts every time you try to remember! It seems to me like someone was intent on keeping you away from the world and away from your memories in the same time!" Marik exclaimed.  
  
The spirit's eyes widened. "Are you suggesting-?"  
  
"Yes!" Marik said "The same person who locked you in there could be the same one who took away your memory! Imagine what happened in your life that could be of such importance!"  
  
The spirit stared in a bewildered manner. Marik continued in overexcitement.  
  
"Could it be that what you can't remember was so important that the same people who got 'rid' of you once, want to destroy you again? Ultimately this time- by killing your body host and destroying his ring?!"  
  
The 'Yami' person fisted his hands. Marik could see small gashes form under the sharp fingernails.  
  
"It's impossible..." he said desperately, making Marik stare at him in interest "I don't know about the 25th century, but no one could remove someone's memory 600 years ago!" the spirit said and Marik instantly smirked.  
  
"That's what you think..." he said lightly, in a sly deep voice "It is known from historic sources that at the end of the 21st century- which when you met Ryou, I suppose- the grand companies had already started to develop on Earth... MultiCorp was already planning to colonize other planets and build the Catacombs for ship-making, while the great medical company of the time had reached ways to tinker with the human mind, particularly human memory, in order to find the cure for Alzheimer..."  
  
The spirit suddenly seemed petrified to the spot. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Finally, he managed something. "Do...Do you know the name of that 21st century medical developing company?" he asked Marik.  
  
"Unfortunately, no." the exotic boy said thoughtfully "It has been lost within the ages...Why to ask?"  
  
The spirit looked precariously into Marik's lavender eyes. "Because I remember commercials on the road that had the name on them..."  
  
Marik looked expectant. Suddenly, for some mysterious reason, his heart started beating erratically in angst. "G-Go on..." he choked.  
  
"It was...KaibaCorp...and it was the greatest medical company of our time, but we never knew they had to do with memory experiments."  
  
Marik's heart was ready to burst. "You mean...you mean...that Kaiba's great- great-great-great grandfather might be the one who did this to you?" he anxiously asked, all charm and slyness forgotten.  
  
The spirit nodded slowly. "And...maybe the great-great-great-grandson is out...to finish the job."  
  
Marik's eyeballs nearly popped out. It all made perfect sense. It fit perfectly. "So they're after YOU, not Ryou..." he whispered and looked into the spirit's shaken, glaring orbs.  
  
Suddenly, the spirit's eyes became glazed. He looked as if he was lost in some deep meditation. "What's wrong?" Marik worriedly asked. He whished he could shake the spirit's shoulders but it was no use: his hands would just run through the air.  
  
The ghost abruptly snapped out of it and refocused its eyes on Marik.  
  
"Ryou wants me to go back in the ring. He told me through our mind link."  
  
"You can communicate like that?" Marik inquired in awe.  
  
"Yes...our minds are connected and we can switch control of the body...It's our conscience that is different. I always hear it when Ryou calls me...but it has never happened with another person before... Nor have I ever felt the need to obey to someone's wishes before...not even Ryou's...what's with you?" the spirit looked at Marik meaningfully.  
  
Marik nodded promptly as if trying to shake away his bad thoughts. "I'll...figure it out...and I'll let you know..."  
  
The spirit suddenly realized they had been sitting down all this time. It stood up and started to float above the ground. "I must go."  
  
"Wait!" Marik said "You can call me Marik! What should I call you?"  
  
The spirit looked thoughtful "Ryou calls me ''Yami" because I am his dark- side. Other than that...I don't remember my name...if you want to separate me from my bright-side, though, you can call me by his surname...'Bakura'...just to separate us..."  
  
Marik nodded quickly, indicating he understood. "Goodbye..." he said quietly.  
  
Bakura's body started to fade like smoke. Soon only his eyes were left, staring back at Marik. A loud, distant voice echoed around Marik's brain cells, as those fading eyes glared at him. "Until next we meet...Marik." He heard the scary voice say. After that, the eyes and smoke completely faded away.  
  
As though waking from a sudden dream, Marik could again hear the voices of his friends from the other room. Soon, he saw the door open, and Serenity and Ryou came outside covered in something Marik was not quite familiar with. The blond boy stood up, his golden earrings tingling at the movement. He stared quizzically at Serenity, asking for an explanation.  
  
Serenity's face was graced with a pretty blush while Ryou looked shy beyond imagination.  
  
"Um..." Serenity started "I decided to show Ryou how to bake a cake with contemporary equipment but...he insisted we try the 'traditional' cooking method..." Serenity aimed a playful glare at Ryou. Ryou looked away bashfully.  
  
"I just thought using our hands to cook was a good idea..." he said innocently. Marik's eyes widened considerably.  
  
"You used your HANDS?" he said with a level of incredulity unknown to mankind.  
  
"Well...yes..." Ryou said quietly.  
  
"And these are the results!" Serenity said while pointing at her stained clothes. Marik was commencing a fit of laughter while Ryou and Serenity were slowly becoming purple from blushing. Who would have thought these people were actually twenty years old?  
  
The three friends were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a computerized voice.  
  
"Warning. Two individuals approaching residence. Gender: females. Grant access?"  
  
Marik stopped snickering and turned to Serenity. "It might be a trap...Kaiba!" he said urgently and Serenity nodded. Ryou's innocent eyes widened. Marik could guess he was having an internal conversation with Bakura.  
  
Serenity's commanding voice ordered the computer "Computer, demand name and activate speakers." The computer obeyed and the house was suddenly filled with two voices.  
  
"It's us!" a tearful voice cried. Marik instantly recognized her, being the one with the most experience in KaibaCorp "It's us!" the voice said again "Lena and Rika!! Serenity, please! Open the door!"  
  
Serenity turned to Marik anxiously. "It might be a trick! What should we do?" she inquired. Marik looked a bit lost for a moment, so it was Ryou who answered.  
  
"Marik, let's hide. We don't know what they want or why they're here. We can't risk them seeing us! Serenity has an alibi, remember?"  
  
Serenity was surprised by Ryou's determination. His eyes were still honest and pure, but this time they had a load of resolve into them. Marik nodded quickly and followed Ryou into the nearby corridor.  
  
"Close!" Ryou ordered the computer and the corridor doors closed immediately.  
  
"You're a fast learner!" Marik complimented as Ryou's innocent eyes sparkled with pride.  
  
"I only saw Serenity do it, like, twenty times." He answered.  
  
Marik smiled quickly and urged Ryou to focus his attention on the happenings of the living room. Fortunately for the two of them, the house speakers were still on, so the voices of the girls echoed around.  
  
"Oh my God, are you okay!?" Serenity yelled after the sound of the closing door. The boys' blood froze in their veins as they listened to incoherent mumbling and constant sobbing. "Serenity! We didn't know where to go...We' re so sorry..."Lena's tear-filled voice finally said.  
  
"You won't believe this, Serenity, my God...I can't...oh God..." Rika cried after that. Marik and Ryou had gotten really worried by now.  
  
Serenity's voice ripped through the sobs. "What happened? Tell me! What's wrong, girls?" she anxiously asked.  
  
"Haven't you...Haven't you seen...the...n-news?!" Lena inquired between sobs. Serenity sounded like a nerve-rack right then "No, I haven't! What's going on? Tell me, you're killing me!"  
  
'And me...' Ryou thought desperately.  
  
"You know the d-doctors Suzuki and A-Ayano that were with us at the operation yesterday?" Lena asked. She seemed to be a little better than Rika who was sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Y-yeah..,. Your point is?" Serenity hesitantly asked.  
  
"And you know that boy Soiji...he was w-with us too..." Lena continued ominously. Serenity said nothing but the boys could imagine her nodding anxiously.  
  
"Well, they're...they're..." Lena tried to say.  
  
"THEY'RE DEAD!! ALL THREE!" Rika screamed desperately. The boys covered they're ears, but they were focused on what she had said. Marik especially felt horrible. He had known these people.  
  
"What??!" Serenity tremulously asked "Wha-How? Why? When?" she asked desperately.  
  
"Yesterday night! They were found ...oh God... they were found murdered in their apartments... Some maniac cut their heads off! All three of them."  
  
A thud was heard and the boys could only imagine Serenity drop to the ground.  
  
"W-Why?" she asked in a distant voice. Ryou was sure he could hear tears roll in her voice.  
  
"W-We don't know...W-we were out partying with Taichi and Kenji last night, at the time the others were killed...when we went back home in the m- morning...both our apartments were trashed..." Lena murmured barely loud enough to hear.  
  
There was a long pause and Serenity's voice was heard after that "What are you saying?" she asked in a sickeningly low whisper.  
  
"WHAT WE"RE SAYING IS THAT SOME FREAK IS TRACKING DOWN EVERYONE THAT HAS TO DO WITH THAT DAMN OPERATION AND CHOPING THEIR HEADS OFF!" the sobbing Rika shrieked.  
  
Marik looked at Ryou and he stared back. So it wasn't just Ryou who was the target, after all...It was everyone. Lena's voice broke the silence again.  
  
"You know that guy, Ryou Bakura? Kaiba says he escaped his cell yesterday. You think that crazy freak killed everyone? We still don't know were Marik is! D-Do you think..."  
  
"I don't think so!" the deep exotic voice said.  
  
All three girls looked around to greet the sight of Marik and Ryou walking towards him. The girls gasped and ran to Marik at once. The practically brought him down with hugs.  
  
"Oh, thank God you're okay!" both of them were saying. Ryou shook his head slowly and approached Serenity. He stood beside her and together they waited for the girls to stop glomping Marik.  
  
When it was finally over they turned back to Serenity. "What's the meaning of this?" Lena asked her.  
  
Serenity glanced towards Marik's direction and the exotic blonde got the message.  
  
"Ryou didn't escape last night...It was us who sneaked him out...we thought we could bring him here where he could be safe. Kaiba was about to kill him! Serenity and I were worried about Kaiba's threatening behavior so we went to check on Ryou...Kaiba was about to kill him, I swear"  
  
Both girls stared in disbelief. "Kaiba?" Rika asked incredulously.  
  
"As in...Kaiba, the boss?" Lena added.  
  
All three friends nodded vigorously and Lena turned to Rika. "It makes sense...Kaiba was threatening everyone yesterday, remember? Why would 'the guinea pig', as he calls him, make an exception? He also took part in the operation..."  
  
Rika nodded in understanding and turned to Ryou and Marik. "We trust you guys ant not that scumbag, Kaiba."  
  
"I don't get it, though..." Ryou suddenly said "If everyone was attacked last night, how come Serenity's house is an exception?"  
  
Marik thought a bit and answered. "I know! Serenity just started working at KaibaCorp yesterday. Her address has not been saved in the company catalog yet. I was in charge, so I should know..."  
  
"That means they might discover the address any minute through the state catalog!" Serenity frantically yelled with Ryou's hand gently calming her shoulder.  
  
"It's true!" Marik said "We are all in imminent danger!"  
  
"Then let's go!" Ryou said. He took Serenity's hand and started to lead her down the hall.  
  
"Ryou, wait!" Marik yelled and the other boy stopped dead in his tracks. "We have nowhere to go! I bet Kaiba has his goons looking for us everywhere right now. Let's stay here until dawn."  
  
"Dawn might be too late..." Ryou thoughtfully said.  
  
"No, it won't!" Lena suddenly piped up. "Taichi and Kenji have already prepared and escape pod. We're leaving the planet ASAP!"  
  
"It's the only thing we can do right now...Get as far from KaibaCorp centrals as possible...You should come with us! It's your only hope!" Rika filled in while looking at Marik.  
  
Marik looked at Ryou and Serenity for approval. They both nodded in determination. "Okay." Marik said "You're right. It is our only shot. When are we gonna go to the pod?"  
  
Lena smiled "we agreed with Taichi that we should meet up tomorrow noon. The two of them will be spending the night in the pods. Tomorrow we will go incognito...Kaiba won't dare kill us in broad daylight!"  
  
"Don't be so sure..." Ryou thoughtfully remarked, but stopped when he saw the desperate looks he was receiving "But it is our best shot!" he finished.  
  
"Where to go, though?" Marik murmured "Kaiba has connections everywhere..."  
  
"Maybe we should go to the place he least expected we survive..." Serenity spoke. That pulled Ryou and Marik's attention.  
  
"Do you mean...?" Marik started.  
  
"A-huh...." She said slowly "Earth."  
  
Rika and Lena gasped as if a forbidden plague had been mentioned. Marik slowly nodded in comprehension while Ryou's innocent eyes sparkled with hope. He would see home again.  
  
"Why would Kaiba try and kill every single on of us, anyway?" Rika silently mused, "He could just get rid of the main executives- no offense Serenity-"  
  
"None taken"  
  
"...Or just 'the specimen' -no offense Ryou.  
  
""None taken."  
  
"Well, didn't you hear him at yesterday's meeting?" Serenity asked "He doesn't want anyone to know about his secret operation. He probably believed we already know too much as it is..."  
  
Meanwhile, Marik watched Ryou carefully. The ring around his neck started glowing but none of the girls noticed.  
  
Marik watched, entranced, as Ryou's facial expressions changed from innocent to cruel. The boy's figure suddenly looked taller and more muscular. His spiky hair flew around his face and his glaring eyes were locked on Marik.  
  
Suddenly, he spoke, a voice far different than Ryou's sweet one. The girls hushed and turned to 'Ryou' in bewilderment.  
  
"So it wasn't just me they're after." He told Marik darkly. Only the bronze- skinned boy caught the double meaning of the phrase. Bakura was referring to himself-the spirit. Marik knew this, but the girls thought it was Ryou, talking about himself.  
  
Marik gulped and nodded stiffly. "No...Not just you...But that doesn't mean we were wrong..." he said.  
  
Serenity focused her concerned glance on 'Ryou'. "Ryou?" she asked "Are you okay?"  
  
Bakura turned to her darkly. He could hear his light screaming to him to treat the girl nicely, so he obliged. "I'm fine." He told her in a softer tone than what he had used earlier. "Don't worry... Serena..." he added in Ryou's innocent voice. Serenity observed him up and down. Could it be he was truly crazy, after all?  
  
Marik noticed her reactions and inwardly swore to tell her the truth later. It was a shame to lose her trust to Ryou.  
  
"I can't believe this!" Lena's voice suddenly broke out "I curse the day we heard of operation Rewind 1!"  
  
The moment she said Rewind 1, it was like something scared Bakura out of his wits. He felt his head spinning rapidly and gave into it  
  
_"Rewind 1..."_ he heard distant echoes_ "We'll name it Rewind1...the first positive result...eternal....Rewind...."_ just then, the pain returned in excruciating amounts.  
  
He soon blacked out.  
  
"Ryou! Please wake up!! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Serenity asked in an anxious tone. Bakura groggily opened his eyes and saw his light's beloved whipping his forehead with a damp towel. 'They still have these in 2650?' Bakura wondered, referring to the towel.  
  
He noticed that everyone was gathered around him and the moon had come to the sky. 'Maybe this is the time to let Ryou take over...' Bakura mused. He was about to retreat into his ring when he heard Marik ask him a question.  
  
"What happened?" he asked and just like earlier, the spirit felt the need to answer Marik's question.  
  
"The name of that operation reminds me of something...it was an unpleasant flash...it's gone now..."  
  
"You mean 'Rewind 1'?" Rika asked curiously.  
  
Bakura winced "Yees...that" he told Rika with a hiss. She got the message and stopped prying.  
  
"So you do have flashes.." Marik said mysteriously.  
  
"This has never happened before,,," Bakura answered in the same tone.  
  
"Ok, what THE HELL is going on here?" Serenity inquired somewhat angrily.  
  
"I just think Ryou needs his rest, am I right Ryou?" Marik slyly asked.  
  
"Yes...you are..." Bakura said. The golden ring around his neck glowed suddenly, and Ryou's eyes became pure and innocent again. Serenity was royally confused, but the other girls didn't seem to notice.  
  
"C'mon, guys..." Marik said dismissively "Big day tomorrow..."  
  
He took the girls and ushered them outside the guestroom. "Goodnight..." Serenity quietly told Ryou and turned to the door.  
  
"Wait, Serena!" Ryou asked before he could stop himself.  
  
"Y-yes?" she turned around somewhat shyly.  
  
"I-I..." he started with a stutter "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?" he asked urgently.  
  
Serenity instantly felt guilty for even suggesting the idea to herself. How could she ever think like that after all she'd seen? She had proven unworthy for his gratitude yet again. Now his large eyes were observing her in desperation.  
  
"I could never." She simply said and smiled a true smile. He returned the favor.  
  
"Goodnight..." he said quietly as her figure slowly walked away.  
  
"Goodnight..." she said sweetly "...call me if you need anything..." she added in a worried tone, which almost made him go crazy with joy.  
  
"I will...G'night..."  
  
"Sweet dreams..." she mumbled and walked outside. The doors shut behind her and Ryou suddenly felt very alone. He lay down and searched in the abyss of his mind.  
  
/That was close, Yami.../ he told the grouchy spirit. Bakura smiled at his light, a favor preserved only for his other half.  
  
She's cuter than she looks from in here...the darkness said.  
  
Ryou smiled brightly and closed his eyes.  
  
Back in the living room, Lena and Rika were asleep. Next to them, Marik and Serenity were talking. Marik made sure to tell her everything about the invisible spirit.  
  
"That explains why Ryou was called crazy...I wonder why he didn't trust me with this." She quietly wondered.  
  
"He hasn't told me either, I told you...I just know because... I can see Bakura, myself...Ryou is afraid we'll think he's crazy if he tells us...imagine what you would do in his shoes!"  
  
Serenity nodded. A great amount of understanding filled her heart. Poor boy, to have such problems all his life.... Not only he brought was alone in a foreign place, but he also had to deal with an irate spirit...  
  
"What about that 'Rewind 1' flashback that Bakura had?" Serenity asked Marik...  
  
"I told you about Bakura's memory loss...Other than that...I don't know." Marik answered,  
  
Serenity quietly nodded and focused her gaze on Marik. His blonde bangs covered his tropical eyes and his golden jewelry sparkled in the red moonlight. He looked very thoughtful.  
  
"What's the matter with you, Marik?" she asked suddenly. He looked at her questioningly. "Why can you control Kaiba's decisions and why are you the only one that can see that Bakura spirit? How did you know about Kaiba's plans to kill Ryou?"  
  
Marik nodded at her as if he was agreeing with something in his head. Then he covered his face with both hands. He ran his palms through his hair and they became two fists in his blonde bangs.  
  
"I-It's not time yet, Serena..." he mumbled "Not time..."  
  
Serenity yawned widely and groaned. "Sure...that's all I hear today..."Not time"...darn...need...sleep...ahhh..." she yawned.  
  
Marik watched as she sank into the couch next to him. For once, her sleep was not plagued with dreams of her long-lost brother...  
  
Marik shook his head dismissively and resumed to thinking. Serena was right...why did all this have to happen to him...why now...why here...why...  
  
That was his last thought before he fell into deep slumber himself.  
  
None of them saw the black shadow pull the guestroom window open. None of them saw the shadow stand ominously over the albino boy's angelic, sleeping form. None of them saw the glint of the laser string stretched above the boy's throat.  
  
None of them heard the shadow maliciously whisper:  
  
"And then the Queen of the Wonderland shouted..."Off with her head!!" "  
  
In case you guys didn't notice, the last sadistic phrase was from Alice in Wonderland. Cliffy!!!


	5. The port

Phew...the 5th chappy is finally ready. I made this extra long! A big thanks to all my reviewers! I promise you all a good story! It's very hard to actually reply to reviews, but I want you to know I always take suggestions into consideration and friendly comments always make me exultant!  
  
Thanks for everything! On with the story!  
  
None of them saw the black shadow pull the guestroom window open. None of them saw the shadow stand ominously over the albino boy's angelic, sleeping form. None of them saw the glint of the laser string stretched above the boy's throat.  
  
None of them heard the shadow maliciously whisper:  
  
"And then the Queen of the Wonderland shouted..."Off with her head!!" "  
  
None of them saw all this except a restless dark spirit. It was the grouchy spirit that rested inside Ryou's precious golden ring. Right now, the Bakura spirit was pissed. Seriously pissed.  
  
'How dare he try to kill my Brightside while he is sleeping- that is so cowardly!'  
  
Instantly. Ryou Bakura's eyes snapped open. They weren't the usual innocent pools of amber, though. They were red-brown, burning with a cruel, petrifying flame. This wasn't Ryou, it was Bakura.  
  
The would-be murderer was startled and seemed to hesitate for a second. That moment was all Bakura needed. He rolled around and escaped the laser beam before it was too late. The lethal string that had aimed at his neck slipped and hit the bed. The soft furniture was cut in two.  
  
The shadow' s eyes widened beneath the dark hood "What the heck..." he started to say. Enraged, he turned his gaze at the crouching Bakura. Suddenly, the shadow person lunged forward and snapped the laser string aiming at Bakura's head.  
  
Bakura, using his lightning fast reflexes, ducked immediately. The laser passed over his head. The man yelled an angry battle cry and started throwing the laser string frantically here and there, trying to chop any part of Bakura off. Bakura, on the other hand, was performing one jump roll after the other.  
  
Ryou, who had awoken after sensing Bakura take over his body, was now intent on the fight. He was helping Bakura see what the murderer was doing since it was a bit hard to see in the dark.  
  
The only thing that could clearly be distinguished was the red laser beam.  
  
"You asked for it!" Bakura shouted at the mystery killer and prepared to lunge on him like a wildcat, always aware of the scorching laser.  
  
The man smirked and laughed cruelly. "Why don't you sit still and make this easier for both of us, kid?"  
  
That was it for Bakura. His vicious, bloodthirsty eyes became slits of poison. With an incomprehensibly rapid movement, he had slipped behind the man. It all happened so fast.  
  
/Yami, NO! / Ryou shouted from inside Bakura's head, but the spirit was lost in instinct and self defense.  
  
Bakura grabbed the behind of the man's neck fiercely. With surreal strength, one that Ryou's body could never possess, Bakura twisted the man's head.  
  
A heart- wrenching 'crack' was heard as the man's neck snapped. Bakura indifferently let the man collapse to the floor. The glowing laser flew gracefully down and it rolled to the holster in his hand.  
  
"That was refreshing." Bakura told no one in particular. He touched the man's corpse with his foot and flipped him over. The killer was wearing a black outfit with a hood and army boots. On his back were secured a couple of long knives. "This looks like a ninja...do these guys still exist?" Bakura wondered.  
  
/You just killed a man! You didn't have to! There were other ways.../ Ryou said quietly.  
  
Like what?Bakura countered To let him kill us before we could kill him?  
  
/You could have immobilized him! I know you could!/ Ryou distantly said.  
  
It's called the law of survival; Brightside...He would have chopped my arm off before I could get to hit him properly. It's the law of the jungle, better get used to it.Bakura answered haughtily.  
  
/That's the same you said before we burned those cars in the 21st century mall in order not to get locked in the nuthouse!!/ Ryou said in a disgruntled tone.  
  
Look, Brightside, I did this scumbag a favor. He should be glad I put him to rest. Do you know how many times a day I wish I could die like this? All I want is final rest. I've got eternal life...look were it got me?! In a room, stuck in a boy's jewelry, forced to fight for my life...what the hell? This guy should be glad I put him out of his misery...  
  
/Yami...I know you're angry but.../ Ryou whispered. He was about to continue, but a loud thud was heard from the other room. /Oh my God!!/ Ryou shouted /Serenity! Marik! Other ninja's must have come for them!/  
  
Bakura's eyes narrowed considerably and he saw red. No one threatens me without punishment!he thought viciously and approached the metallic doors of the rooms. They snapped open as they sensed his presence. He walked outside and was greeted with an empty, dark corridor.  
  
Bakura dived to the ground and stealthily crawled around. He stuck to the wall and approached the far end of the corridor. Horrifying, impending silence was all that reached his ears. His feline senses stretched around his body.  
  
His bright red eyes were shining brightly in a catlike manner. All his moves resembled those of a snake predator. He slithered to the end of the corridor and hid in the darkness behind the metal doors.  
  
He slipped gracefully next to the doors and braced himself for what would pop in front of him the moment he walked through them. Nevertheless, patience was a great virtue that only his Brightside possessed. Bakura was fierce, rough and impatient in every sector of his life. Sneaking on murderers and saving people included.  
  
The white haired, angel-formed feline ran to the doors, which opened automatically. The moment he had stepped in the living room, he witnessed what could have been the most terrifying scene in his life. Being an ancient spirit without memories, though, helped Bakura keep an unfazed reaction.  
  
There was Lena and Rika lying on two armchairs. Serenity was asleep next to Marik on the couch. Her head was placed soundly on his shoulder. Bakura could feel Ryou's jealousy and disappointment flow through their common link.  
  
Bakura, however, was preoccupied with more important things. Above each person stood a black shadow... a ninja. They were all holding long knives in both hands. Their hands were raised above their heads and they were preparing to bring the swords down and in each victim's chest.  
  
They were raising the knives up ominously when Bakura yelled. It was a rough battle cry, and Bakura used it to distract them.  
  
The sleeping forms jerked awake and everyone had a puzzled expressionon their faces as they watched Bakura Ryou stand in front of them and yell something incoherent. Then, with a swish of lightning, four black forms had lunged on the albino angel. His white locks flew ethereally around him, provoking a magnificent contrast with the black ninja shadows. He looked like an angel among demons. Literally.  
  
Bakura was cornered and getting weaker. 'Why didn't I grab that guy's laser thingy? I could have used it!! ' He thought as he engaged in a heated fight with all the warriors simultaneously.  
  
All girls started screaming in unison and Marik jumped to his feet and rushed to his friend' s aid. He kicked the side of a ninja's torso and punched someone square in the face until he reached the white-glowing angel.  
  
The ninjas suddenly stopped their attack and started walking around the two boys in perfect synchronization. Marik and Bakura moved slowly and warily. Now Bakura had glued his back on Marik's and each one was facing two of the surrounding shadows.  
  
As they moved around slowly, still back-to-back, Marik leaned to talk to Bakura.  
  
"You okay, Ryou?" Marik hoarsely asked, while eyeing the ninjas who surrounded them like a pack on ravishing wolves.  
  
"This is so refreshing...I'm just so sorry I didn't bring champagne for the party!" Bakura's deep dark voice echoed from Ryou's body. Bakura was amused that Marik had not recognized him instantly. It must be hard to tell the difference between him and Ryou in the darkness.  
  
"Bakura?" Marik asked in a bewildered tone.  
  
Just then, the hungry, deadly looks that the ninjas were throwing them stopped. The warriors simultaneously lunged at the two boys. Marik and Bakura started fighting the ninjas in extravagant speed. Bakura's silver characteristics shone in the black room, now matched with Marik's golden spark of beach-blonde hair and shining jewelry.  
  
The golden boy and the silver boy were fighting back-to-back like long lost partners, each movement matched equally with their partner.  
  
"Bakura is that you?" Marik asked again while warding off a hopeful punch.  
  
"Did you really think..." Bakura started but was cut short when he managed a kick into a shadow's jaw "that Ryou..." he panted wildly as he escaped a blow "can fight like this...?" he finally finished.  
  
/Yaaaami!/ Ryou exclaimed in a defensive tone.  
  
Almost instantly, a desperate yell was heard and a ninja's body fell limply on the floor. Marik had broken his spine with a death-kick. The other three shadows stopped dead in their tracks and stared at their fallen partner.  
  
Bakura didn't like the sudden pause of adrenaline and resorted to the classic method: enrage the opponent.  
  
"Oh, you like that, do you?" he sneered while referring to the dead corpse "I have another one in the guestroom in case you're interested..."  
  
Marik was a bit dumbfounded at that, but the other ninjas seemed to know what Bakura was talking about. Yet another colleague had fallen and now there were only three of them. The desperate screams of the girls broke through the silence.  
  
Bakura's prediction was right and the black warriors were very angry. When they attacked Marik and Bakura again, their movements were erratic, spasmodic and certainly not focused. Bakura kicked an opponent in the shin and proceeded to crush his genitals. The man fell down, howling in pain, but Bakura was not feeling very merciful. He didn't want to stab he opponent and get soaked in blood, so he resulted with breaking the man' s neck again.  
  
Serenity, who was watching from aside, was staring at Bakura with awe. She never thought it possible for Ryou Bakura to show such outstanding strength and cruelty. His eyes were stony and red, reflecting a sadistic, arctic glow. Then, she remembered the conversation she had shared with Marik before. 'This must be the other Bakura Ryou...The spirit that Marik told me about...That's probably why he doesn't behave like Ryou at all...Ryou is always so sweet and caring. It's very peculiar to see him act like this!'  
  
Marik's luck was similar to Bakura' s. He was fighting two warriors simultaneously until Bakura started fighting with one of them. This gave Marik a wonderful chance to kill his enemy. The ninja was frantically waving both his knives around, forming intricate figures. Marik just raised an eyebrow at the 'intimidating' demonstration and proceeded to hit the man with a simple punch in the face. The man backed away and tried to recover, but Marik was much to fast. He jumped in the air and performed the 'crouching tiger' stance. (Trinity from 'The Matrix') He hit the ninja under the chin and forced his neck to break.  
  
The golden haired boy fell gracefully to the floor on both feet. Cheers and sighs of relief echoed from the terrified girls. Marik turned to check on Bakura, and what he saw made him freeze. The remaining ninja was waving a red laser string around, trying to chop Bakura's head off. Marik rushed to his friends aid and decided to distract the man.  
  
"Hey you! Black dude!" Marik yelled at the ninja "Yeah, I'm talking to you! Won'tcha come here and have a piece o'me!" Marik shouted in a hilarious accent, which was sure to distract. The shadow seemed to get angry and temporarily forget about Bakura. Big mistake. His head got crushed before he had the time to blink.  
  
Now, the two shining boys were standing alone in the middle of a black cemetery. Time seemed to slow down and all three girls approached their panting friends. Lena and Rika classically fell to Marik's arms, telling him how glad they were he was okay and what a hero he was. Serenity wanted to hug Ryou and tell him how worried she was for his safety, but she couldn't bring herself to touch him. This person was a stranger in her friend's body...It wasn't Ryou.  
  
'But Ryou is in there...' she thought as she watched Marik calm the two girls and Bakura indifferently look around. 'Marik said that Ryou is 'hiding' in his mind...how is that possible? I hope Ryou will come back soon.' Serenity thought.  
  
She watched Bakura's every move. When Marik was free of the girls' death- grip, Bakura turned to him and smirked. To Serenity, this cruel sneer was very unsuitable on Ryou's angelic features.  
  
"Good thing we didn't make a bloody mess, Marik...I wouldn't be able to control myself if we did."  
  
At this, Marik's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and Serenity stared at Bakura with a truly terrified expression. 'Ryou' had just spoken in a very deep, maniacal voice.  
  
" 'Control yourself'..." Marik repeated with a slightly terrorized expression. Serenity had never seen Marik abandon his suave appearance before. This spirit probably had a very intimidating affect on the exotic boy.  
  
/Yami! Don't say anything! Can't you see the looks Serenity is giving you? She thinks you are me! Please! Don't say you like drinking peoples' blood! I beg you! Please! Don't ruin this!/  
  
Bakura snickered inwardly at Ryou's angst.  
  
Relax yourself...Bakura assured 'As long as Marik doesn't telepathically force me to answer his questions, everything is okay...' he thought to himself. On the outside, he expertly mimicked Ryou's innocent expression and smiled that sickeningly sweet smile.  
  
Serenity, having totally memorized each and every shape of Ryou's immaculate expression of innocence, could tell at once that the smile was faked. Marik didn't seem to buy it either, since he noticed that Ryou Bakura's body was still taller and more muscular than usual. Lena and Rika seemed convinced, however.  
  
"I just meant that I could never control myself from throwing up at the sight of blood, that' s all..." Bakura commented in Ryou's sweet cheerful tone. Marik eyed Bakura suspiciously with eyes that promised more elaboration later.  
  
Serenity's eyes narrowed. 'How dare this person try to imitate Ryou's behavior! This guy may look more manly and strong, but Ryou's gentleness and innocence makes him better than this 'spirit' could ever hope to be! Ryou is surely the best between the two men! How dare this impostor attempt to impersonate the one I love...wait! Love? Oh-oh...this situation is growing out of hand...I just said the L-word...' Serenity had become irate by now and was beginning to feel desperate to see Ryou's true innocent eyes again.  
  
/Thanks, Yami! Please don't blow our cover! You don't know how much this girl means to me! If she ever thought I was crazy.../ Ryou anxiously told his other self.  
  
I know, Brightside, I understand...I'm not THAT dumb, you know...Bakura murmured through their mind link. You're obviously in love with the girl!  
  
Ryou's feelings of embarrassment flew through the link.  
  
/I just...don't want to lose more friends, you know? I don't want to...lose her/ Ryou admitted.  
  
Bakura sent Ryou a feeling of understanding and compassion. I don't want to lose our new friends either...they're very interesting...  
  
Bakura's eyes wandered to Marik, who was now sharing a discussion with Rika. Very interesting...he repeated absently.  
  
/Can I take control now, Yami?/ Ryou asked slowly.  
  
No answer came; just the glow of the golden ring and the sudden change of Ryou's stature. Marik's attention was pulled away from Rika. He fixed his gaze on Bakura and saw Serenity do the same. Marik pretended to listen to Rika's rambling as he secretly focused on the smoke that surrounded Bakura's form. Marik was the only one who could see that smoke, apart from Ryou...Yet another weird element.  
  
Bakura's eyes closed and when they opened again they were sincere and honest. Marik felt a large hole of disappointment in his stomach. 'This is inconvenient...' he mused as he nodded at Rika's silly question 'Now I won't have the chance to talk to Bakura about my summoning and controlling him mystery. Maybe he could help me more with my problems...well the good thing is that we'll have Ryou's company. Ryou doesn't frighten me, at least...I could have sworn Bakura looked a bit vampiric when he was talking about blood.'  
  
Ryou's innocent brown eyes roamed around his surroundings. He stopped and kept his penetrating gaze on Serenity. When she realized that Ryou had come back, it was like a load of dread was lifted from her shoulders.  
  
Unable to stop herself, she flung into Ryou's embrace. They both closed their eyes blissfully, cherishing the rare moment. They were holding on to each other in a death-grip, clutching onto one another's clothes as though the whole world was about to tear them apart.  
  
"I'm so glad you're okay, Ryou..." Serenity mumbled. Her words were muffled from his chest. She just reveled in the warmth and softness his touch offered. Her whole body was drowning in an unexplainable pond of passion. Every single fiber of her being wanted to touch and fondle him. She settled on burying her hands in his silvery strands and sighing blissfully in his embrace. It felt like touching a cherubim.  
  
"Me too Serena...you don't know how worried I was..." Ryou whispered. His hands were wrapped around her torso and he was holding onto her for dear life. He had dipped his chin on her silky brown hair and was just treasuring the moment of trust and security.  
  
Rika and Lena had ceased talking to Marik and were openly staring at the interaction between Serenity and Ryou. This didn't look like the somewhat comical and friendly way they had hugged Marik. This looked a lot more...serious.  
  
Marik knew the reason behind Serenity's enthusiasm for seeing Ryou again, but thought it wouldn't be that smart to comment.  
  
"Hey guys! What's wrong? Did you just remember to cuddle? I'm just saying...you guys didn't seem to remember the need for hugs and kisses up till now...what' s up?" Lena curiously asked. "Did you guys just get together, or something?"  
  
Serenity jerked violently away from Ryou, who blushed deep crimson and avoided inquisitive glances. Serenity was squirming uncomfortably and Ryou realized he had to take the situation in his own hands. He regained the usual, wise and reticent composure and smiled cheerfully.  
  
"It was just that all the excitement from seeing you glomp and talk to Marik got to us, I guess...you girls should really learn to control your excitement sometimes. People may misunderstand..." he stated with a flawless smile.  
  
Serenity's jaw dropped at the forward manner. He had actually managed to play with words so as to take their own uncomfortable position and twist it around in order to make it LENA' S uncomfortable position. ''I guess old age DOES help sometimes...' she thought 'This just makes Ryou even more delicious...oops...now were did that come from?!'  
  
Rika and Lena were blushing hard and Marik was chuckling behind them. This was probably the hint Rika and Lena needed in order to drop the subject without further elaboration.  
  
/The girl was right.../ Bakura told Ryou thoughtfully /How come Serenity recognized you when you came outside? Did she actually distinguish me from you?/  
  
This left Ryou speechless and confused. His Darkside, however, was having different thoughts. 'Maybe Marik told her...' he thought 'I'll kill that little pretty boy...and I'll enjoy bathing in his tropical blood...' Nevertheless, Bakura knew that Ryou didn't know about Marik being able to see him. 'Better not tell Ryou yet...' Bakura thought 'Let's not worry him...I'll soon eviscerate Marik anyway...'  
  
"Excuse me!" Ryou suddenly exclaimed seriously "We're here, in the middle of a battlefield, just escaped the claws of death and we're having a happy little chat? We need to leave! Now!"  
  
Serenity and the other girls vigorously nodded, indicating they didn't want to stay in the apartment another minute.  
  
"You're right! Let's take our supplies and go!" Marik exclaimed.  
  
"Fine, but where to?" Serenity urgently asked as she took Ryou's hand and started to lead him towards the exit.  
  
"We told you! We're going to catch a ride to earth! Taichi and Kenji are already waiting at the port!" Lena impatiently explained.  
  
"But you said that we would leave at noon. Now it's four in the morning, Lena!" Marik reasoned.  
  
"Taichi and Kenji are spending the night in the escape pod, remember? They fear that they might be killed if they return home." Lena answered.  
  
"Okay." Ryou started, his innocent eyes taking a look of determination "Then we have to move slowly and stealthily. First we leave the building and then we make our way to the port. Marik, you lead since you know all about this city. I'll help the ladies."  
  
Marik nodded vigorously. For a moment he considered asking Ryou to let Bakura take control of the escape routine, but he didn't want to let Ryou realize that he knew about Bakura. Then again, Marik could apparently summon Bakura at will, but that would just seem like he was looking down on Ryou's ability and that was certainly not the case.  
  
Marik was slowly observing Ryou's character development. Ryou was slowly growing in self-confidence and a leading spirit was starting to shine through him. When Ryou was young –originally young- he must have been a very responsible and polite man. This natural characterization, combined with the wisdom of old age now resided inside Ryou. That can't be bad. In contrast to the ancient spirit Bakura, who seems to be full of anger and feelings of revenge for his unwanted immortality, Ryou was obviously submissive to the chance of repeating his youth- but this time without mistakes and foolhardiness.  
  
Marik didn't really think Ryou cared about living when they had first met him as an old man. Now, though, things had changed, Serenity's presence in Ryou's life seemed to make him eager to live again. When Ryou had told Marik that he loved only one girl in his life, Marik had this peculiar feeling that Ryou was referring to Serenity and not some ancient lover. Curious but true. There was more in Ryou's psychology than he let on and Marik was about to find out...  
  
Serenity and the girls had been packing some clothes and food for them to keep. Serenity had also taken some smoke chips and electrical flares. She had made sure to take her KaibaCorp ID and her old ID as a civilian of Earth.  
  
"Okay Ryou! Let's go!" Marik said when the girls had returned, his prismatic eyes taking in a new shining lavender dimension. Rika and Lena had to keep from sighing at the tropical boy's resolved expression. Yet there was something else in Marik's eyes. The lust for adventure perhaps, who knew? Ryou surely recognized the passion for freedom and experimentation in Marik.  
  
Ryou forgot his musings and started to walk to the door in a faster pace, matching Marik's stride. Serenity's hand was clasped firmly in Ryou's palm as she followed wordlessly.  
  
Should I take over, Brightside?Bakura asked from inside Ryou's mind.  
  
/Sorry, Yami, but don't. I wish to do this on my own.../ Ryou answered.  
  
I see...we want to impress someone, don't we?Bakura slyly sneered with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Ryou stayed very silent after that, his untold anger throbbing into Bakura through their link.  
  
/I want to protect her. You only protect us, but I want to protect HER/ Ryou finally said in a surprisingly calm tone. Being an old man had the privilege of learning to reduce the intensity of passionate feelings of domination like anger and lust...which is of course something Bakura never learned albeit his old age... and Ryou mastered long ago.  
  
Bakura smirked lightly and nodded in understanding. I'll be watchinghe simply said and finished the conversation. The glazed look left Ryou's eyes and he looked around at the environment. They were standing in the darkness of the lounge, in front of the exit doors. Serenity had ordered for the computer to open the door. Marik was looking at Ryou expectantly.  
  
Ryou nodded lightly. "C'mon!" he said as he went out of the house with Serenity.  
  
"Wait!" Marik suddenly exclaimed "Serenity, shouldn't you order the computer to erase all camera recordings or speaker recordings for the last few days? We don't want anyone to see us killing ninjas, now, do we?"  
  
Serenity hit her forehead with her hand as if realizing her stupidity. She ordered for the computer to erase all recordings of the last seven days.  
  
Soon all five figures were stealthily progressing in the dark bridge-roads of Mercury, always wary of Kaiba's guards. Each girl had a bag of supplies hanging from their shoulders.  
  
"Hey Serenity..." Rika whispered lightly "You know that your apartment will stink in a while with all those corpses..."  
  
"Don't worry..." Serenity answered with a tone of disappointment "I can never go back to that place... or KaibaCorp..."  
  
At this, Ryou turned his head to look at her and she froze. All the sincerity of apology and gratitude that his gaze reflected was breathtaking.  
  
That was all that took place before Marik turned his crystal, disapproving glare to all of them. That was their queue to officially stop talking.  
  
So the dark figures ran into the intricate pathways, bathed in the red glow of the fading moon and the new blue shine of the rising suns.  
  
The five friends were now standing in a deserted passageway, shoved inside a mysterious alcove. The suns had long past risen and Ryou often commented on the unfamiliar feeling of blue light and the elusive effect it had to the environment.  
  
The girls were the further in, while the alcove exit, was blocked by the two boys. Marik stood the further out and would occasionally bend forward and check the commotion outside. Hovercrafts swiftly passed in front of their hideout, and all this speed was making Ryou a little dizzy.  
  
The angelic albino rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes tiredly. It had been an adventurous week for him, after all. Serenity sneaked a peek at his resting form and reached out to graze his silver hair with her digits. Ryou felt her touch and opened his eyes only a little to look at her. He grinned lightly and reclosed his eyes wearily.  
  
Seeing he didn't seem to mind, Serenity continued to run her hands through his hair lovingly, treasuring every single touch she had the chance to lay on him. She knew he wasn't asleep because his breathing was not even and calm.  
  
Even so, she reveled on the thought that he seemed to relax in her touch. Serenity absently looked around. Rika and Lena had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position. Ryou was resting beside her and Marik...  
  
Marik was restlessly observing the outside. The passing of hovercrafts made his hair fly wildly around his face. His earrings would occasionally make a clear soft clinging sound. The rest of his jewelry glowed gracefully on his body. He was still wearing the same beige top and the same blue-black jeans he had been wearing yesterday.  
  
Overall, Marik looked even more tropical and mysterious than when Serenity had first met him. She could see why every single woman was so very attracted to him. His very smell was intoxicating, making the skin prickle with an unknown, heart-quenching feeling.  
  
Why was Marik wearing that thoughtful expression, though? Why did he look so serious and devoted suddenly? So unlike the boy Serenity had first met in the secret laboratories...  
  
"Marik?" she asked tentatively "What's wrong?"  
  
Marik seemed shaken from a trance. He had been lost in his problems again- his mysterious telepathic powers and what they meant.  
  
Serenity could feel Ryou tense and open his eyes, beneath her gentle caresses. He too gazed at Marik with a polite yet unwavering stare.  
  
Marik opened his mouth to speak, the air ruffling his hair mercilessly "I..." he started to say, but was cut short by a ringing sound.  
  
In a moment, the condition of the friends was transformed. Marik and Ryou stood up immediately, sharing worried glances. As Ryou stood, he gently slipped away from Serenity's touch and grabbed her wrist.  
  
The persistent ringing continued becoming louder and louder with each sound. It took a moment for Rika and Lena to wake up. They stood up and Marik suddenly realized it was coming from Lena's coat.  
  
"Quick! Pick up your phone before somebody hears us!" Marik instructed and Lena rushed to take the phone from her pocket.  
  
She pressed a button and suddenly, the miniature hologram of Taichi appeared in front of them. Ryou looked at Serenity curiously.  
  
"It's a type of phone, Ryou...We also have non-hologramic phones, but they are considered really cheap." She explained. Ryou nodded quickly and turned his attention to the conversation between Lena and Taichi.  
  
"Lena, Rika! Are you okay?" Taichi' s voice echoed around them.  
  
Lena looked to be in the verge of tears. "Yes! Oh, yes, we're fine! How about you guys? Oh my God, Taichi, is everything okay?" Lena asked urgently. Marik and Ryou were watching the small hologram intently.  
  
"Yeah...Kenji is fine and so am I...We slept in the pod, just like we said we would...everything is going according to plan." He whispered. "We haven't seen what's going on out in the port, so watch out! Someone might attack you!"  
  
Lena looked immensely relieved and suddenly, she seemed to realize the presence of all the others "Oh no! Taichi I forgot to tell you! We went to Serenity's house as planned. Marik and that ancient man, Ryou Bakura, were with her. Someone is after them too...we'll take all of them with us, right?"  
  
Taichi looked positively startled "M-Marik?" he hesitantly asked "Marik is with you? And the ancient fellow too? But we thought he was dangerous!"  
  
"It's okay!" Lena said. It seemed as though she was about to start explaining. Marik shot her a warning glance and surprisingly, she got the message "I'll explain everything in detail later, Taichi! We have to come to the port, while it's still daylight!!"  
  
"Fine!" Taichi said urgently "Hurry, okay? We're waiting for you! Be careful! Marik...if you're there...Take care of everyone..."  
  
The hologram slowly faded away and Marik nodded unconsciously. Rika and Lena started hugging each other frantically, reveling at the thought that they're friends were okay.  
  
Ryou shared a significant glance with Serenity and they both turned to Marik. He nodded to them and his lavender orbs lit up with determination. He turned to the alcove entrance and the wind hit him full force. Serenity and Ryou stood next to him, watching the hovercrafts pass in front of them.  
  
On the far, deep end of the horizon stood a humungous building. It was an architectural wonder. Great platforms raised above the clouds and framed with metallic arches completed the skyscraper. There was really no word to describe its magnificence. Spaceships flew rapidly and landed on the platforms, each one shining with a special light. It was the port.  
  
It could have been considered an epic moment, All of them staring outside with the wind blowing soundly on their faces and the blue Mercury sunlight bathing their surroundings.  
  
The urgency of the situation, however, was overwhelming and the boys had no time to waste. Marik jumped out of the hidden alcove and onto the floating road-bridge. Ryou followed promptly with his arms around Serenity. He helped the other girls get down and turned to Marik.  
  
The bronze-skinned boy had his arms folded skeptically. The wind from the 'flying tubes' still made his hair float around him. Ryou approached his friend and looked at him. He was very old himself, and he could see the change in Marik. Marik was growing more mature by the minute.  
  
"Quick!" Serenity urged "Lets not catch a cab! Kaiba's goons can be everywhere..."  
  
"Who said we're gonna take a taxi?" Marik mysteriously asked. He shoved his hand in the pocket of his trousers and took out a small, mechanic contraption. Serenity and Ryou instantly recognized it.  
  
Marik pressed the button but nothing happened. Everyone was getting a bit impatient, except Ryou who had long practiced in waiting. In a while, a black, shiny hover flew down next to them. Marik smiled a sexy grin and slipped in the driver's seat. His exotic charms were set on maximum again.  
  
"So..." he started "Who wants a ride?" Lena and Rika started squealing and eagerly dove in the backseat, whereas Serenity and Ryou flashed identical cheerful smiles.  
  
Serenity forced herself to squeeze between the girls in the backseat, while Ryou sat in the front next to Marik. Ryou was still a bit uncomfortable about hovers, but he still preferred the front seat from having to sit between two squealing girls.  
  
"Marik!" Lena started excitedly "How did you call it from so far away?"  
  
"Yea Marik..." Serenity wondered "How DID you call it?"  
  
Marik whipped his head around to look at the back seat and Ryou followed his lead. "It's an electro-wave contraption that I created myself. It allows the similar system in my car to track my signal everywhere within the range of 150 miles..." Marik said somewhat smugly, his lavender orbs shining seductively.  
  
"That's right Marik..." Rika started "You always had a thing for engineering..."  
  
Ryou shook his head dismissively at Marik's self-satisfied expression. "Youngsters..." he murmured and the girls giggled. Marik just threw him a playful glare and turned to the steering wheel.  
  
The inevitable reaction from Ryou was heard..."Oh-oh." The revived boy said as Marik started speeding.  
  
They were all hiding behind a set of wooden doors. It was at the most isolated part of the Spaceport. It was the place where hardware and several lost or restricted items were kept. They had sneaked this far and where now trying to get to the pod.  
  
To get to the pod, they had to pass through the official platform, the one teeming with people. Marik had his head sneaking through the crack of the door, his lithe, lean body glued stealthily to the wall. Since this was a cheap hardware space, manual wooden doors framed the entrance.  
  
Marik's observant eye widened as he observed the people outside. He let the door close and turned to the others.  
  
"This is bad..." he said quickly and glanced around at his friends. "Kaiba has guards everywhere...He's making sure no one leaves the planet."  
  
Ryou and Serenity exchanged glances. "We can use smoke as distraction..." Serenity suggested.  
  
Marik shook his head negatively. "Nah..." he mused "They've got scanners everywhere...Smoke will do no good. Neither will distraction...we have to pass as unnoticed as possible and enter the pod at the same time."  
  
At this, everyone's eyes turned to Ryou who innocently blinked. "What?" he asked gingerly.  
  
"Camouflage." Marik answered. "Your appearance is much too unusual."  
  
"Whereas yours is not, Marik?" Rika asked smartly "When you get in the room, everyone stops breathing."  
  
Marik didn't even blush. He decided not to comment on that and simply settled on huffing. 'Damn...' he thought 'she's right!'  
  
"We all have to camouflage..." Serenity said decisively "You never know who may recognize us."  
  
"Fine!" Rika started as she raised her backpack. "I have just what we need."  
  
Bakura Ryou had soon vanished in order to be replaced by the black-haired young man with brown eyes. Even his thin white eyebrows had been replaced with thick black ones. His unnaturally pale skin had been replaced with a darker, much more common tone. The black mane that now adorned his head had been gathered in a huge brown hat.  
  
"Do I HAVE to?" Ryou whined comically.  
  
Serenity smirked from her place next to him. Her hair and eyebrows were now blonde and let completely loose. Her eyes had been turned blue and her tummy looked like a balloon  
  
"Easy for you to say, hippie boy. YOU'RE not supposed to play a pregnant woman..." she said. Lena and Rika snickered at that. Now both the girls had brown hair and they also had the same eye-color. They would pretend to be twins.  
  
"How's it going, Marik?" Rika asked the nearby man. Marik turned to her and they couldn't help but snicker. Marik had his own natural hair and eyes. He also had a beach blond mustache. All jewelry had been removed and casual clothing had replaced his tropical look. His skin had become a few shades lighter and it looked like Ryou's in a way.  
  
The magic things one can do with 25th century beauty tools... Marik glanced around suspiciously and turned to his friends.  
  
"Okay! Review the plan!" he said in a conspicuous voice. The others nodded and Serenity started to memorize the plan. "Rika and Lena start first. They go to the pod and we get to see which pod it is. Then, Ryou and I slip out and go to the ship. Lastly, you come along, Marik- I still don't feel good about that, by the way." She added with a blush.  
  
Marik shook his arm, signifying that it was useless to try and change his mind. "Okay! Do you remember your parts?" Everyone nodded and Marik felt a surge of relief. At least that was over with.  
  
"Right! Go girls, we'll be watching!" Marik urged. The girls looked at each other and proceeded to step outside the hangar.  
  
"Good luck..." Ryou's voice echoed as the 'twins' slipped outside. The doors closed quickly behind them and they swiftly made their way to the main platform. They needed to follow Marik's instructions and mingle with the people first.  
  
The walk to the escape pod was generally uneventful for the two girls. They did notice many Kaiba guards, but no one seemed to distinguish them in the crowd. They soon realized that a Kaiba guard was settled outside each ship, guarding it. Now that was not good.  
  
As they approached a certain, old-looking red ship, they started to walk slower. By the time they were in front of the ship, they had stopped.  
  
"This must be it!" Lena excitedly said but soon noticed the guard outside the pod and felt her resolve crumble.  
  
Rika tugged at her sleeve. It was time to play their role.  
  
The female guard watched lazily around her. 'This is pointless' the muscular blonde woman thought 'No loser would even want to step in this shack, let alone escape with it...' Just then, she saw two girls approaching and they looked exactly identical.  
  
'Holy cow' the simple minded woman thought 'What the heck?' she noticed that the girls were having a heated conversation.  
  
"You must be crazy!" one of them told the other "No one is THAT stupid! How could you forget the tickets at home?"  
  
"You're the one who' s crazy!" the other countered "I TOLD you I wouldn't take those tickets if you didn't buy me that dress!"  
  
"That's just blackmail, you're so sick!"  
  
"You're my twin sister, so why can't you at least show some respect?"  
  
"Respect? RESPECT? How can you respect a person who leaves the tickets behind because of a DRESS!? Oh, and by the way, that dress does NOT suit you! It suits me better. That salesman said so..."  
  
"How can you say that you ...you...ho!? You look just like me!"  
  
"Have you got a problem with that? Huh? Huh? You want a piece o' me? Huh? Huh?"  
  
By now, the fight had come right next to the guard and the woman was really starting to lose her patience.  
  
"Ladies...LADIES!" she shouted, and at once the twins stopped bickering. "What is your problem, ladies? Can I help?" the guard impatiently asked.  
  
"Yes, officer, you can!" the first twin said "My idiotic sister forgot the tickets for our ride. Now we're stuck here..."  
  
"I'm NOT an idiot!" the second sister countered and the bickering started all over again. The guard rolled her eyes and shouted again.  
  
"LADIES!" she screamed to calm the twins "If I give you a solution to your problem, will you get off my case?"  
  
The twins nodded eagerly.  
  
"Great!" the guard said "look, I don't know about your ship, but I'm willing to let you take a ride in this god-forsaken empty pod for free. If you can find a way to fly it...it's all yours!"  
  
"Really?" the first twin said with shining puppy-dog eyes.  
  
"REALLY?" the second echoed with the same expression.  
  
"Yes really.' The guard said while rolling her eyes.  
  
"You won't be sorry!" the first twin said.  
  
"You definitely won't!" the second echoed.  
  
"We'll take good care of it!"  
  
"We surely will!"  
  
"Just let us go in and you'll see!"  
  
"You will most absolutely see!"  
  
The guard was desperate to get rid of the duo. It seems that when they were not constantly arguing, they were constantly agreeing with each other.  
  
"Whatever!" she finally shouted "just get away from me.'  
  
The twins shared identical grins and rushed to get in the pod. The guard was so glad to feel peace and quiet again, that she didn't even notice as the girls shared high-fives.  
  
At the other end of the platform, three people were standing still.  
  
"It actually worked?" Asked Serenity incredulously.  
  
"Of course!" Marik said "I've known these two for a long time and they can act exactly like that sometimes..."  
  
Ryou smiled sweetly at that. It was unimaginable, the way he could preserve his innocence and gentleness no matter what. Serenity smiled in return, but Marik was more occupied with checking on the landscape.  
  
"Coast is clear..." he skeptically said "You guys go first, and expect to see me later..."  
  
Serenity and Ryou nodded. Ryou took Serena's hand and moved first. He spotted the pod they had to go to and started walking.  
  
"I feel like a stinky drunkard..." he murmured to Serena.  
  
She looked at him curiously. He gave her an innocent look.  
  
"Never mind..." he said while shaking his head. They reached the red pod easily, carefully avoiding Kaiba's guards.  
  
They saw the blonde female guard from a distance. "This is it..." Serenity started "Now we wait for Marik..."  
  
They waited for a moment, until they saw a beach-blonde haired guy with a mustache walk up to the guard.  
  
"That's our man..." Ryou murmured "Are you ready?"  
  
Serenity nodded and held a hand on her belly.  
  
"Then let's go!" he urged.  
  
Back at the front of the pod, the female guard was sitting peacefully and twirling her blonde locks when a man walked up to her.  
  
'Now what is this hot piece of work?' she thought as she examined the newcomer. In short, he was everything she ever dreamed of. Tall, blonde, with beautiful eyes and creamy skin, not too muscular, dressed in black and looking mean with a mustache.  
  
"Hey...." The man started slyly as he approached her. He placed his arms on the red pod and leaned on it. This was getting better by the minute.  
  
"Hey..." she answered.  
  
"So..." the guy said while touching his mustache lightly "...how ya doin'?" he asked. His intoxicating smell filled her nostrils as she sensed the exotic touch. Entrancing.  
  
"I'm...okay..." the guard said. Marik had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. How boring could a woman get?  
  
"Cool..." he started saying "So...what is a lady as beautiful as you doing here?" he finished with a leer.  
  
The guard felt like fainting. This god thought she was beautiful? Wow! This boring trip to the port turned out to be interesting, after all. The blonde girl was already fantasizing about this guy.  
  
"I'm assigned to guard this stupid ship for KaibaCorp...I don't understand why, though...It's top secret and I theoretically can't tell you of course, but I'll tell you anyway..." she rambled on.  
  
"Oh yesss..." the man hissed suggestively as he slipped like a snake closer to her "please tell me more..."  
  
The guard was overwhelmed "Well, they want us to keep some scientists from leaving...They have to do with some weird experiments but Kaiba never told us more than that..."  
  
"Aw..." the man said in a regretful yet alluring tone. He stretched a hand and ran his finger over the skin on her neck. The mere touch had scorched her flesh. "That means you have so much work to do that you can't even come with me somewhere a bit more private..." he continued.  
  
The girl's eyes widened. Already? Hell, she didn't have any objections. She was about to fill him in with her response when some annoying voices were heard next to her.  
  
The man seemed indifferent at the interruption, but the guard was enraged. Here she was, ready to fulfill her greatest fantasy and some idiot interrupted her?  
  
"I'm really, sorry, miss, but...me and my wife are searching for a ship." A manly voice said with a heavy accent.  
  
"One moment..." she eagerly told the handsome man and turned to the distraction. A brunette man was standing there, next to his blonde, pregnant wife.  
  
"What do you want?" the guard asked through clenched teeth. The man blinked innocently with the most honest, sincere look she had ever seen.  
  
"Please help us?!" he said, as his innocent eyes sparked at her "My wife is pregnant and due to give birth any day now...We hoped that...an old pod like this could give us a ride to Venus or something..."  
  
"Sure..." the guard said impatiently "Whatever! Do you have some ID and a ticket? " she asked. Just then, the enchanting man that had driven her crazy to begin with came excruciatingly close to her back and leaned his chin on the crook of her neck.  
  
"What's the matter?" his deep voice burned her skin "Is there a problem?"  
  
The girl's breath started to come in quick gasps. "No... no problem..." she mumbled and turned to the innocent man and his wife. "There is no problem! Do what you want, just leave! Now!"  
  
The couple eagerly obliged. The man and his pregnant wife rushed into the rusty pod and the guard turned to the blonde man instantly.  
  
"So..." she started quickly "Where were we...?"  
  
The man's sly grin returned to place and his lavender eyes flashed mysteriously. "Well..." he started saying, but there was another interruption, one that Marik was not expecting.  
  
He became truly nervous on the inside when he saw another KaibaCorp guard approach the girl he was assigned to distract.  
  
"Hey, Sheila!" the other guard shouted at her. He was male, so there was no chance of seduction there..."What the heck are you doing? Why have you let you're guard down?" he asked the girl angrily.  
  
"Well...um...you see..." Sheila started and instantly pointed at Marik "I was just talking to this guy..."  
  
The male guard froze as he noticed at the blonde, mustached man. Marik squirmed uncomfortably. He recognized this man. He had frequently talked with him when he was at KaibaCorp.  
  
The man's eyes roamed above Marik's body. His unprotected lavender eyes and golden hair could pose a threat now...  
  
"M-Marik?!" the guard finally exclaimed! This hit Marik like a brick on the head. He kept a composed façade but on the inside he was collapsing. "Shit" was the only thing he could think of. But being the known suave that he was...Marik decided to go down fighting.  
  
He resulted in his best method: distraction/seduction. "Whatever do you mean my good sir...?" Marik inquired lightly by setting all his willpower on his charms. He could instantly feel Sheila's very essence melt beside him, but the guy was left unphazed.  
  
Marik was really starting to worry now. Just then, he realized his lethal mistake, apart from being incredibly stupid and power-hungry, guards had the tense to be absolutely obstinate when they actually DID manage to realize something fishy.  
  
Just now, by using his usual charms, Marik had done the absolute mistake. He made it blatantly obvious to the guard that he really WAS Marik, the sweet-talking, sly pretty boy who had the power to seduce everyone within the range of twenty miles.  
  
The guard was having the same thoughts obviously. His beady black eyes narrowed considerably. "Don't play dumb with me Marik. I know your face like the back of my hand-everybody does. I wonder what you're doing here...in front of a deserted ship...dressed in that silly biker outfit...with a corny mustache..."  
  
Marik's eyes widened considerably. The lavender glow was replaced by a worried purple.  
  
"I...I don't know what you're talking about..." Marik started in a voice that sounded much unlike his own. For the first time in his life, he felt very vulnerable and very alone. Where was everyone to help him now?!  
  
The guard was approaching with a menacing, hungry look. He looked as if he had caught a mouse in a trap. 'I can't believe I used to talk to this man...' Marik thought disgustedly. Sheila looked very confused and very angry. Marik could vaguely understand her mentality but didn't have time to really think about it.  
  
Suddenly, a sickeningly vicious hiss was heard. It was a man's voice and it came directly from near the red pod. The male guard turned, bewildered, to greet the sight. Sheila mimicked the other's actions.  
  
Marik had instantly recognized the terrifying voice and felt strangely comforted by it. Bakura the frightening spirit usually scared Marik, but this time, the freaky voice sounded sweeter than he could ever imagine. "Of course he doesn't know what you people are talking about...Am I right Jake?"  
  
Marik turned around to look at Bakura. Ryou's body was hosting the cruel eyed spirit. The ebony hair had been let loose in Bakura's natural, long mane. Marik smiled at the sight of the spirit. His confidence started to grow again.  
  
"Of course you're right, buddy." Marik decided to play along. Bakura smiled with vampire fangs and turned a sadistic glare on the two guards.  
  
"My friend here, doesn't know this person named 'Marik'? What do you have to say about that?" Bakura eagerly asked the male guard, his burning red eyes burning for the chance to destroy.  
  
"I say that's a pile of bullshit!" the male guard said in what he thought was a manly tone but really sounded more like a girlish squeal.  
  
Bakura's eyes shone with mirth. "Thank you so much, for giving me the chance to amuse my boring existence." With these words, Bakura lunged ferally on the guard.  
  
Marik could only stare, frozen, as Bakura punched and hit the guy viciously. He even bit the man at some point, drawing blood. Disgusted, he spat the liquid out. "Your blood is so washed out! What do you feed with, water?" Bakura barked. He would have said more if it weren't for Ryou shouting frantically in his mind. The spirit in the body of Ryou had soon immobilized the opponent. Sheila came next. A simple kick was enough to bring her to the floor.  
  
The scene had drawn the attention of many at this point and more Kaiba guards were coming. Bakura had no time to lose. He grabbed Marik' s wrist and dragged him all the way to the red ship's entrance. Together, Bakura and Marik, climbed the ramp and got in the ship.  
  
Taichi and Kenji were ready after that. The ship instantly took off, leaving the bewildered Kaiba guards to stare solemnly after them.  
  
"Unit 2 reporting..." a guard said in his ear-microphone "Red, rusty escape pod has just left dock 3...Suspects are on the ship. It's hard to ignore, the ship is in very bad shape...Yes sir. Yes sir. I understand sir. Positive. Fine. The pursuit will commence immediately."  
  
The guard closed the link and turned to a colleague who was checking out Sheila's pulse.  
  
"Get a ship to pick Mr. Kaiba up. Start chasing that damn pod immediately!" the guard looked at his the fallen guard's corpse angrily "And get rid of these god-damn bodies!"  
  
"Yes sir!" the guard said urgently and proceeded to make the arrangements.  
  
Meanwhile, back in the escape pod, Marik was fondled by everyone.  
  
"We're so glad you're okay Marik!" Serenity said while hugging her friend.  
  
"Yeah!" Lena added "It's all thanks to Ryou! He totally flipped when he realized you were in danger! It's like he became another person! Right Rika?"  
  
"Right!"  
  
"Really? Was he really that worried?" Marik asked in a bewildered tone. His eyes wandered to Bakura's form. He was standing far from the others, facing the spaceship windows. Marik looked at the spirit thoughtfully. Apart from Serenity, this spirit was the first person to worry so much about him. Hey, Bakura actually risked his life for him.  
  
That's gotta be worth something, right?  
  
"Totally! We couldn't see what was happening outside, but he heard some pretty interesting punching noises..."  
  
Marik sunk in a thoughtful trance. It's a good job they hadn't heard innocent 'Ryou' talk about how stale somebody's blood tasted. Marik couldn't understand it. Bakura was totally disgusting and mean, yet he was always very calm and collected when talking to Marik.  
  
Marik stood up from his lying position and approached the lonely, now black haired figure. Serenity had wisely stayed away from Bakura for fear of angering him. The girls started to talk to each other fervently, while Marik stepped somewhat bashfully towards Bakura.  
  
He tapped the spirit's shoulder lightly and the boy turned around with fierce gaze. He steadied his back on the glass and focused his fiery glare on Marik.  
  
Marik was feeling incredibly insecure and naked, suddenly. He always lost his charming aura around Bakura, it probably had something to do with the spirit's aura...  
  
"T-Thanks..." Marik started very uncharacteristically, while staring at the floor. "...for saving me back there." He continued. He could feel the fiery gaze pierce into his mind at this point.  
  
Bakura stayed very still and silent for a moment. Then he suddenly turned around and smirked cruelly. "Don't get too comfortable. I just need some answers in this mystery and you seem to be the only one who can help..."  
  
Marik felt as though that impersonal response was much warmer than anything the spirit could have said. After all, Bakura resulted in mean techniques only when he was fighting to keep his feelings hidden. Bakura probably felt good at hearing Marik thank him...and Marik felt happy for that.  
  
"Is Ryou listening to this?" Marik asked in a mysteriously cheery voice.  
  
"No. I blocked him out of my thoughts after I drank that pathetic guy's blood."  
  
"That's right! Why are you obsessed with blood, anyway?" Marik curiously asked.  
  
Bakura smirked at that. "I just take advantage of Ryou's physical ability to drink...and make myself feel alive..." he murmured absently.  
  
Marik's lavender eyes glowed in understanding "Bakura..." Marik started but was startled to see Ryou's innocent orbs turn back to look at him. That was it...Bakura had left. Marik felt a pang of loneliness and disappointment yet again, but Ryou's warm gaze was very comforting.  
  
"I...I think I spaced out for a while, Marik..." Ryou politely said "could you please repeat what you were saying?"  
  
Marik looked compassionate "I..." he started but was interrupted suddenly by a gruff male voice.  
  
"Marik! "Taichi shouted as he approached them all. Kenji was following up close. The girls didn't look surprised to see them- they probably talked to them earlier. Marik, however, was very glad Taichi and Kenji was okay.  
  
"Hey!" Marik shouted and patted Kenji's back. "You okay?"  
  
Kenji chuckled lightly. "We're fine. Thank God you came...all these females are giving me the creeps!"  
  
Marik laughed and Ryou grinned behind them. "Thanks for taking care of them, Ishtar." Taichi seriously said. Marik nodded, his jewelry clinging and sparkling.  
  
Just then, Marik noticed Ryou's aloof behavior. "Oops..." he told Taichi and Kenji "You guys...Ryou is not crazy and he's not the one after us!"  
  
"They know, Marik...We told them most of what we know." Serenity's soft voice echoed. Ryou immediately felt better. That kind tune of Serenity's voice always had a calming effect.  
  
Marik seemed to calm at that too. Taichi looked very lighthearted. He approached Ryou and Ryou cheerfully smiled at him. Taichi patted the albino's back.  
  
"How could anyone not trust a guy like this?" Taichi cheerfully said. Ryou looked curious as to what that meant but everyone else laughed happily.  
  
Ryou took a better look at his surroundings. They were in the back of the ship. The equipment around them was shiny and new, which made a startling contrast with the rusty- looking outside of the pod.  
  
Suddenly, a thought hit Serenity "Oh my God! The Kaiba guards! They'll come after us now that they saw Marik in our pod!"  
  
Marik was shaken into a terrible reality. He had managed exactly the opposite of what he had intended to do. He revealed their cover, and now it was no use trying to hide on Earth.  
  
Taichi and Kenji, however, looked very relaxed. "Don't worry" Taichi said "This baby is fully equipped with all the equipment we need. It's an escape pod, of course and doesn't have stuff like weapons and lasers...but it does have a little something we added on it...A generator that can camouflage the ship...On the outside it looks just like a useless shack while it really is...Come with me!"  
  
He led them down some intricate corridors and elevators and reached the bridge. Taichi slipped in the commander's seat and started tinkering with some control panels. Ryou's eyes were widening more and more by the minute.  
  
Taichi finally pressed a green button and immediately, odd sounds were heard from around the ship.  
  
"What the heck?" Lena asked, dumbfounded. Kenji grinned.  
  
"We just disposed of the parts that covered our ship's TRUE surface. Now it looks green and new on the outside. This will stall the guards, don't you think?"  
  
Everyone except Marik just stared. Marik was telling Kenji and Taichi some extra mechanical tips. 'He truly does have an obsession with engineering...' Serenity thought as she observed them.  
  
"Marik really likes technology, huh?" Ryou asked Serena cheerfully. Serenity just turned at him and smiled a true smile.  
  
"Yes...And Taichi and Kenji are really into driving ships, it seems." She answered.  
  
"Of course!" an exultant Rika exclaimed, joining their talk "Taichi and Kenji were former Navigators!" she said with an air of pride and admiration.  
  
"Navigators?" Ryou curiously asked, his innocent eyes gleaming politely.  
  
Serenity rushed to answer "Navigators were the first people who explored space when spaceships were made. In the 22nd century, when the greatest and more able pods were developed by MultiCorp and the first Catacombs were made, Navigators were the ones who discovered other planets suitable for human colonization...Later, Navigators became the drivers of exploration and transportation ships."  
  
Ryou nodded quickly. Then, his eyes sparked with another question "Um...What are the Catacombs...?"  
  
Lena and Rika giggled at Ryou's ignorance and he smiled kindly at them. Serenity sighed inwardly thinking this would be very difficult. Nevertheless, Ryou's innocence had persuaded her and she was about to start explaining when Marik interrupted her.  
  
"Hey guys!" he shouted urgently "Listen up! Initially, we were hoping to hide on Earth. We'll stick to that plan. It's just that we have to be careful no Kaiba guards follow us to our new hideout. Besides...it's very hard to hitch a ride to Earth as it is, and we will have to make a stop at another planet anyway...Maybe we can mislead the guards."  
  
Everyone nodded quickly in understanding. "Good...Taichi and Kenji will stay at the bridge, everybody else...go relax!"  
  
This was all they needed. Lena and Rika started giggling as they walked outside and into one of the corridors. Who knows were they went after that...  
  
Serenity flipped her auburn hair behind her shoulder and turned to the exit. She threw a last glance at Ryou who was gazing around curiously. She needed a rest, so she decided a nap would be good right about now. She walked to the door and went to her cabin.  
  
Marik had also thoughtfully left the bridge and Ryou was not sure where he went. Ryou was left standing at the bridge. He approached Taichi and Kenji who were messing with some gauges and talking.  
  
"So you guys can drive this thing?' Ryou asked amiably. Taichi turned at him and smiled.  
  
"Sure. We liked this job better than being scientists but we had to retire when we crashed really bad with a cargo ship..."  
  
Kenji winced at the memory and Ryou decided to change the subject.  
  
"So..." he started slowly and hesitantly "I was always interested in these things when I was young..." Taichi chuckled at that –Ryou looked as young as can be but he really wasn't...  
  
"I was thinking...if you could teach me how to drive a ship like this...would you?" The kind boy innocently asked.  
  
"Sure we will!" Taichi exclaimed happily "There are no guards chasing us around so there's nothing better to do, anyway!"  
  
"Uh-huh" Kenji agreed.  
  
Ryou smiled gladly.  
  
Serenity had just woken up from her nap. She certainly felt refreshed. Having nothing better to do, she decided to explore the ship.  
  
After she put on her shoes and combed her hair, she left the chamber and started to wander around the corridors. When she reached a big, empty platform, she glanced around. There was a huge window, showing all stars and planets around them. The soft glow from the stars enlightened the empty dark room.  
  
Perched silently on the side of the window was Marik. His golden hair fell gracefully down his shoulders. Now that the ridiculous camouflage had been removed, Marik was wearing a casual purple sweater and long white pants. After all, space was cold.  
  
His golden jewelry sparkled with the soft starlight and his lavender eyes had turned a crystal shade of sapphire from the dim lighting.  
  
Marik had an expression of meditation plastered on his beautiful face. Serenity wasn't sure if she wanted to know what he was thinking about, judging by his troubled eyes. She felt the need to talk to him, however.  
  
"Marik..." she started softly as she approached him. He wasn't at all surprised. His glazed eyes got a more focused look and he obviously stopped his thinking. He made no move, the only indication that he was listening to her was the way his pupils moved slightly towards her direction. (He does that a lot in the show, just looks at people but doesn't actually TURN to them to indicate he's listening.)  
  
Serenity continued "...what's wrong, with you? You're changing."  
  
This time Marik turned to her and blinked lazily. "I know, Serena..." was all he said.  
  
Serenity looked worried as she paced around him "You were carefree at first, but now you're constantly sinking in your...thoughts..." she suddenly stopped walking and turned to him.  
  
"Why aren't you telling me what's wrong? Why can't you trust me? The same goes to Ryou... What's wrong with you, Marik?! How did you know that Kaiba wanted to kill Ryou? How? Why?"  
  
At that moment, Marik looked immensely apologetic and desperate. He turned his pleading eyes to Serena.  
  
"I...I'm sorry..." he simply uttered "I...I just need to figure this out on my own, first...It's hard..."  
  
Marik trust me! Please, tell me! I might be able to help! Trust me, please!" Serenity loudly reasoned. Marik looked at her with a somewhat hesitant look.  
  
'Should I tell her...' he wondered "No...not yet..."  
  
He looked apologetic again " I can't. I'm sorry, Serena. I DO trust you...It's just that I need to understand this by myself first..."  
  
Serenity's usual submissive nature and kind smile was gone. Her eyes had been replaced with two burning auburn meteors. "FINE!" she shouted in fury and exasperation. "Have it your way! FOR NOW!" she angrily said and walked out of the room, her heels clicking erratically behind her.  
  
Marik sighed. Dealing with people he cared about was harder than he thought.  
  
Serenity was having exactly the same thoughts. Her irate steps brought her unconsciously to the bridge. She stepped inside unnoticed and met the most adorable sight one could ever imagine.  
  
It was Ryou- angel figure and all- trying to deal with the spaceship controls comically, while Kenji and Taichi explained things. Ryou seemed to be getting the hang of things.  
  
"I really like this!" he exclaimed cheerfully. Taichi and Kenji shook their head s at the young man's innocence and patted him in the back.  
  
"That's it!" Taichi shouted as Ryou managed to achieve a demonstration of landing the ship. "You got the hang of it!"  
  
"Now all you need is practice!" Kenji added. Ryou smiled and Serenity froze. How could this man's kind grin make her knees go weak?  
  
She was very afraid of all the feelings she had developed for him. She couldn't bare the thought of never seeing his innocent features again. How had this come to be, anyway?  
  
She knew the answer, deep inside. It wasn't his handsome face or body...it was nothing like carnal lust, either. It was pure feeling. She loved this man not because he was beautiful on the outside, but because he had showed her his feelings openly, with no boundaries.  
  
It was that very first time, when he was an old man...the eyes that thanked and admired her from that first moment was what she had fallen in love with. It was the fact that Ryou was not afraid to show his feelings.  
  
Young men- originally young men- had many insecurities and problems. This old man, however, had the experience and the knowledge to understand that it was better to express yourself than lock your feelings up.  
  
That's what she loved about Ryou. His maturity, his inner strength, his kindness and his fiery feelings. Most people tend to confuse love wit lust, but Ryou didn't seem to have that problem. He had obviously kept his abilities of patience and self-confidence in order not to fall into tantrums of passion of anger.  
  
Even Marik could not compose his feelings as much as Ryou. Even if Serenity wasn't the one Ryou loved, she was happy to see him express acts of kindness and sincerity towards her. She loved knowing that when Ryou said or did something, he meant it.  
  
She realized she had been openly staring at him a little too late. He suddenly turned around and saw her. 'Oops...' she thought as she froze to the spot 'Caught red-handed...I can't believe he caught me staring at him.'  
  
Ryou, however, looked as innocent and cheerful as can be. He gave her a bright smile and kept beaming at her. Kenji and Taichi were too engrossed in conversation that they didn't even notice the interaction.  
  
Ryou wouldn't stop looking at her and she was feeling more uncomfortable with the second. She smiled a fake sweet smile, trying to conceal her inner turmoil. Ryou seemed to notice the façade of happiness because his smile faded away. He looked at her worriedly and she instantly felt more guilt drown her.  
  
She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep calm for much longer so she did the only thing she could: she squirmed frantically and left the bridge at once. Maybe this was just today's luck, getting away from people.  
  
After she was gone, while Kenji and Taichi were talking, Ryou had an unusual scowl on. What was wrong with her? Was she mad at him? Why would she be mad? 'Oh dear...' he thought 'I believe these feelings are making me forget my age...I'm acting all young and reckless again...'  
  
Unbeknownst to neither Ryou nor Serenity, two catlike lavender eyes had watched everything. Marik was standing in a dark alcove near the doorway and he had been observing both Serenity's and Ryou's reactions.  
  
'Ryou is very reticent and composed...' Marik thought 'He doesn't act like a lustful youngster like he normally ought to at this age...Instead he likes to express himself through romance. It's justified that he's so romantic...after all, he is an old man. Old and wise people can tell the importance of true romantic feelings. They are not interested in the pleasure of flesh but in the fulfillment of the psyche...'  
  
Marik smirked. 'Yet Ryou does resemble a big baby sometimes, always curious and eager for exploration...He tries to take everything life has to give...He snatches each moment and holds on to it, savoring every part of it as though life was going to be ripped away from him any moment...'  
  
Marik thoughtfully looked at Ryou 'Serenity needs a man who can understand her feelings...She needs a person to fill her sentimentality...Ryou is perfect for that. But Bakura...'  
  
Marik sighed at that 'He's not like Ryou. He doesn't love each moment of life...he hates it. He never stops destroying and hating, all his anger is patched up in his heart...Could it be that Bakura treats life like that because he knows that he will never die?'  
  
Marik jerked suddenly and looked surprised with himself. Why think of Bakura of all people? He was condemned in eternal life.  
  
'Exactly.' Marik mused 'Ryou who is a person that has come the closest possible to death leads a happy and complete life...Bakura, however, the one with eternal life and who can never die, believes life to be a cruel hell- an eternal restlessness, an eternal mayhem...'  
  
Marik suddenly blinked at his thoughts and turned to stare at Ryou, who was laughing whole-heartedly while trying to put a red lever back to place. 'Ryou believes that his life is the most precious thing...but Bakura believes that life is his personal plague! And they were both given the chance of another life...'  
  
'Wait a minute!' Marik mused as he thought of Ryou's contrasting two selves.  
  
'Is eternal life a good thing...or a bad thing?'  
  
To be continued...(Don't you just hate this phrase?) Please review and tell me if you want me to continue! 


	6. Yango

"So everyone is really into these new virtual reality games, huh?" Ryou's soft voice asked through the calm atmosphere.  
  
"Yup! There are all kinds of virtual reality adventures. They can be played by one player or multiple players, and it's very common for a group of friends to play virtual reality together in the arcade...Each virtual reality has a different world and different characters...It's kind of hard to explain...you have to play in order to understand... " Kenji explained to the awed Ryou.  
  
After Ryou had learned the basic principles of taking off with a spaceship, maintaining speed and landing the ship, Kenji and Taichi decided to rest. The others had also come back to the bridge. So, the threat of KaibaCorp was temporarily forgotten and everyone was now spending some well-earned relaxing time.  
  
Ryou and Kenji were sitting in the commanders' seats, talking about all kinds of things while keeping an eye for any KaibaCorp ships.  
  
Sitting on the chairs in the back of the room was Marik and Taichi, who had long since engaged in an interesting conversation about biological engineering. The main theme was: Should illegal drug detector chips be infused in policemens' body or not? Marik was saying that it would surely be cruel to mutate a person biologically while Taichi said it had been done before with hyper- arms and believed it was worth it as long as policemen could detect drugs more easily.  
  
Marik had forgotten his troubles for a while, and was relaxing at the presence of an interesting discussion and some cocktail.  
  
A few feet nearby, Lena, Rika and Serenity were sitting lifelessly on three armchairs with what looked like metallic helmets on their heads. Kenji had explained to Ryou that this was called the 'Visualizer' and it was the actual console for virtual reality games. When the player wanted to play a certain game, he had to take the game data microchip and insert it in the special slot on the back of the helmet. Just then, the game would start.  
  
When in multi-player mode, all the players sat near each other and inserted the same kind of chips. With the help of electromagnetic power, the Visualizers had the ability to work together and allow the players to play in the same game. Ryou didn't really understand everything, but he did understand, however, that the girls were now playing a common virtual reality game.  
  
Sometimes, one of the girls would say something incomprehensible as though in a dreamlike state or jerk violently around. At first, Ryou had been worried about Serenity, but Kenji assured him there was no danger.  
  
"So what kind of game are they playing now? Can we watch?" Ryou eagerly inquired and Kenji chuckled lightly.  
  
"Right now, they' re playing a 'Pokemon' game. Pokemon was a real hit a few years ago, but I'm not sure if it's still so groovy nowadays... It's the only thing we have available in this ship right now, any way. If we had a giant screen to plug in we could watch the game from 3rd person point of view, but this stuff happens mostly in tournaments..."  
  
"So does each player represent a character of the game?" Ryou inquired, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.  
  
"Uh-huh" Kenji explained, "Each adventure has a specific goal. Each player is a game character and they are trying to complete their goals...the winner is the one who succeeds first, obviously."  
  
"How cool!!" Ryou exclaimed while glancing back to the seemingly unconscious forms of Serenity and the other girls. "I wish I can try it someday!" Ryou silently hoped, his eyes resting absently on a certain auburn haired girl's body.  
  
"You definitely will." Kenji assured while taking a sip of his drink absently. Ryou nodded cheerfully and slowly turned to look at the full mug in his hands. All these 25th century things were exciting and tiring at the same time and all this change was driving him crazy. Even their drinks and food were different from what he used to know!  
  
His best friends, Serenity and Marik were the only good things that happened to him in this confusing new world.  
  
As Ryou was staring absently at the stars outside the spaceship windows, a sudden yell was heard.  
  
"Ehhh!" Rika whined somewhat comically. "Why did you stop, Serenity? It was just getting interesting!!"  
  
Everyone in the room had stopped talking and had focused their attention at the girls. Ryou observed like a hawk as Serenity's eyelids fluttered open beneath the helmet and she shook her head lightly.  
  
She slowly and groggily tried to stand up. She almost fell during the effort. Ryou kept eyeing her with a harmless gaze, but it soon turned into a frozen frown when he noticed the tear cascade silently down her soft cheek.  
  
He didn't really see it. It was just the shine of the small droplet that caught his attention. Marik had obviously noticed too, because he stood up abruptly and started to walk towards her. "Serenity..." Marik started saying and tried to approach her.  
  
She slipped aside quickly and turned away from him. "I-I'm S-sorry...Rika...p- play without me..." Serenity murmured in a pitiful voice. She urgently strode to the exit. Marik made a move to follow her.  
  
"Serenity! What's wrong?" he shouted and ran towards the exit, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Marik turned around to meet the brown thoughtful eyes of Ryou Bakura. Ryou's hand was resting on Marik's shoulder, preventing him from lunging towards the door.  
  
"Wait..." Ryou told Marik slowly "I'll go."  
  
Marik seemed a little confused at that but soon understood Ryou's need to comfort her. She was his beloved after all – Marik was completely sure. The golden haired exotic boy nodded in understanding.  
  
Ryou granted him an expensive grateful look and he sauntered towards the exit in a slow, relaxed way. Marik's eyes were fixed on his retreating form, whilst all other residents of the room had resumed their previous activities.  
  
'What's wrong with her?' Marik mused 'I hope it's not my fault...'  
  
Just then, Marik's eyes widened considerably. Through the door that Ryou had just exited, came a green smoke. Marik was only too shocked to see a see-through, pale man walk THROUGH the door in a casual manner.  
  
Marik swallowed an unexplainable lump that had settled in his throat. The invisible newcomer turned to him and grinned ferociously. Marik really wanted to grin back in his usual sly manner and pretend to be really cool, but he somehow lost that exotic aura when Bakura was around.  
  
The spirit swayed slowly towards Marik whose usually lithe body had tensed awkwardly and felt as though his feet where curiously rooted to the floor. He tried to act normal. He really did. But Bakura's eyes that bored into his own tense violet orbs were intimidating enough.  
  
Bakura had now reached the space next to Marik and was towering ominously above him. The tanned tropical boy cautiously looked around. Taichi and Kenji were talking to each other and the girls were absorbed in their game again. No one could see Bakura. Suddenly, Marik realized how tense his whole body was and thought about having to face curious questions like 'Marik why are you standing all alone and very tense in the middle of the room?' Not good. Time to move.  
  
Marik trudged towards the wall stiffly, only to feel a cold shiver run through all his body. Chills ran all around his skin and he knew at that moment that it had happened again. He had walked through Bakura. Bakura was now walking behind him, after having been walked through. 'I hate it when that happens.' Marik decided.  
  
Marik had almost reached the wall. He leaned on it and closed his eyes blissfully.  
  
"I don't like to be stepped through. It makes me feel so...see-through..." Bakura gruffly said with a somewhat frightening hiss.  
  
'You ARE see-through!' Marik had the indescribable urge to shout but he knew he couldn't retort or speak to Bakura because everyone else would think he was talking to thin air. He was slowly starting to realize Ryou's problem. Marik settled on furiously glaring at the spirit, trying to convey his words through his eyes.  
  
Bakura seemed to love this problem and smiled evilly. "Tee-hee... what' s a matter? Cat got your tongue?" the vicious spirit inquired. If possible, Marik looked even more furious. Bakura smirked and turned around to walk a few lazy, sly steps away from Marik. Marik watched the spirit cautiously and somewhat suspiciously.  
  
"My Brightside kicked me out because he didn't want me to 'invade in his private conversations'..." Bakura said in a tone full of mirth. Marik thought he heard a tint of sadness in that voice, though.  
  
He heard an unfamiliar soft sound and realized Bakura had sighed. The ancient spirit hid his face from Marik's view and Marik now really wished he could speak to the spirit.  
  
"I can't blame him, though..." Bakura continued seriously and somewhat ironically "He would find his own way sooner or later...You can't have a partner in all eternal life...he'll want his own personal space sooner or later...I'm a bit of a parasite really, but Ryou never thought of it this way..." his voice faded away and Marik felt a gigantic amount of compassion for this being.  
  
Poor Bakura had to face the greatest challenge of all: eternal life that he didn't even wish for and eternal loneliness that would inevitably follow. 'No wonder he is reduced to a bloodthirsty, vengeful freak...all this pain and passion for darkness and death has caused this. He hopes that if he kills and provokes death enough...maybe it will come to him.' Marik just wanted to comfort Bakura as a lost soul, but he knew the spirit would push him away and deny any human part of him that remained.  
  
'Why would Bakura even trust me with these few sad thoughts?' Marik wondered 'maybe he sees me as a friend too! I wish I could help him.'  
  
Bakura had obviously shaken his dark thoughts away by the time Marik refocused on reality. Now, Marik was horrified to notice Bakura wander around and do all kinds of things, like bend over Lena and Rika' s unmoving forms and start to inspect every inch of their faces.  
  
Marik shook his head and jerked away from his thoughts. He stiffly kicked away from the wall and walked towards Bakura.  
  
Bakura turned around and came to stand besides Marik, who seemed ready to start lecturing about 'Things we are and are not allowed to do while other people can't see or touch us'.  
  
A loud voice made Marik jerk around in an annoyed manner. Bakura turned towards the source of distraction too and seemed ready to kill.  
  
"Oi! Marik! Why the hell are you standing alone and glaring at the air? Come' ere!" Taichi yelled at his handsome friend. While Taichi had been talking, Bakura had grabbed Marik's shoulder and was now completely leaning on his the boy.  
  
"..." Marik just stared at Bakura, irritated to no end. Although he couldn't feel Bakura, he was still pissed. Bakura smirked slyly.  
  
"HELLLOOOO...Oi! Marik!" Kenji yelled.  
  
Marik nodded briefly and started walking towards the boys, thus escaping Bakura's feathery grip. Bakura stabilized himself and followed his exotic friend. When they reached Taichi and Kenji, Marik tried to seem normal and not squirm around reflexively when he saw Bakura jumping in front of him. Bakura couldn't touch him, of course, but reflexes were reflexes.  
  
Taichi noticed Marik's weird behavior and questioned him "Hey man, are you ok? You look a little jumpy..."  
  
Marik smiled reassuringly with his charm engines at full power. "I'm fine." He simply said and the others were instantly convinced.  
  
Bakura smirked. "How gullible." He said and Marik really wanted to guffaw at the disgusted way he had said it.  
  
As the boys talked, Bakura started going around and messing with Taichi and Kenji as they talked. Marik was truly fighting not to laugh at Bakura's vicious, hungry expressions, which promised that he would surely destroy Taichi if he had the chance.  
  
"Pff..." Bakura said loudly, as Taichi was talking about what a good- kisser he was, "I really hate these machos...I mean would you please look at his trousers size?! The guy wouldn't get a date at a civilized society even if he paid a hundred grand for it! Might as well drain him of his blood and serve him for dinner."  
  
Marik pretended to listen to Taichi and Kenji talk lightly, but he was really listening to Bakura's occasional side comments. Bakura, of course, knew this, and was fighting to make Marik crack. Bakura really was a fun guy if he really felt like it, Marik thought.  
  
Suddenly, Kenji turned to Marik "We should have this kind of man talk more often, right M?" he asked.  
  
Marik watched in amusement as Bakura stepped beside Kenji with a disgusted face and imitated Kenji's somewhat idiotic expression. "We should curse rotten scumbags like this dork to oblivion so we could just keep calm more often, right M?" Bakura asked.  
  
A slight tug at Marik's lips made him grin slyly.  
  
"Yes." He answered with a mysterious smile.  
  
No one understood who he was REALLY directing the answer to, except a certain invisible spirit.  
  
Ryou finally reached the door. He felt this unexplainable and very unfamiliar nervousness tighten around his stomach. He knew this was very unbecoming of an old man but he couldn't help but feel this way before entering Serenity's room.  
  
'Damn...you started this...now finish it!' he desperately urged. He watched his shaking hand in fascination as he stretched it on the door surface. 'Thank God my Yami isn't here to start teasing me...Things can be hard when Bakura is in one's head.'  
  
He bent his head on the door slightly. He was just contemplating on how to relax and go inside when he felt the door slip away. Granted that he had been supporting his entire bodyweight on that door, he fell forward headfirst.  
  
He immediately shut his eyes and awaited the collision with the hard floor. It was quite a surprise when he fell on a soft, featherlike surface.  
  
He opened his eyes slowly to meet non other than the tearful auburn orbs of his dream maiden: Serenity.  
  
He had fallen in her arms and her eyes had widened to the size of saucers. She was frozen to the spot.  
  
'Hey' she thought 'I didn't know I could have my own personal Ryou hug me whenever I open the door...oh shit...Ryou is HUGGING me?'  
  
That was a friction of the inner turmoil Serenity felt at the moment. On the outside however, all she managed to say was the incredibly intelligent comment of "H-hey..."  
  
Ryou noticed that her voice still had the wetness of tears. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked as if she could really use some rest. He decided that the whole 'falling in her arms' episode had to wait for now.  
  
He gently slid away from her tight embrace and stood normally. "C-Can I come in...?" he asked, the nervousness leaving his stomach and progressing to his heart, making it pump erratically.  
  
Serenity couldn't find the right words, so she settled on nodding. He smiled gratefully and entered her room. She looked very calm and composed but she was secretly having frantic thoughts.  
  
'What the heck is he doing here? He shouldn't see me like this- I look like crap! Oh my God, is he angry about something? Is he worried? Why is he here?!' she was excited and desperate at the same time.  
  
Ryou sat gingerly on a nearby armchair and motioned calmly towards the other seat. Serenity got the message and sat down while looking anywhere but in his eyes.  
  
A few moments passed in absolute silence and Serenity was feeling more nervous by the second. She realized she had been very jumpy when his low baritone voice broke the silence.  
  
"So..." he started slowly. 'Oh no' Serenity thought 'here it comes....I knew he'd be worried' she slightly raised her eyes to look into his warm brown orbs. Luckily, they were turned to the floor, studying each and every crack thoroughly. He looked very thoughtful- and concerned too.  
  
"...What happened back there, Serena? Care to tell me why you left so suddenly?" he turned his worried, wise eyes towards her and she felt a pang of guilt attack her again. Who was she to make this immaculate being worry about her, anyway?  
  
Her guilty eyes focused on the floor and Ryou studied her patiently. A few sniffles escaped Serenity and she seemed suddenly lost in a world of sorrow. Her white haired friend was beginning to get very worried. It was only after quite a while that Serenity spoke up.  
  
"I..." she started silently, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears "Every time I play virtual games, I..." a long moment passed and she kept silent.  
  
Ryou was waiting expectantly and with some trepidation. "...yes?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt her confession.  
  
The auburn haired girl's head suddenly dropped into her hands and her whole form started shaking uncontrollably. Her desperate, heart-wrenching sobs filled the room. Ryou had somewhat been expecting such an outburst, but was surprised to witness it nevertheless. It wasn't every day that a cheerful, kind young girl broke down into a river of tears.  
  
After that, things came tumbling down. Ryou stood up at once and reached her shaking form. Serenity had dropped to the cold spaceship floor and was trembling in sorrow, so Ryou took her in his arms and rocked her up and down silently.  
  
Serenity was vaguely aware that she was being held and comforted by someone for the first time in her life. At that moment, the moment she had been waiting for her entire life, she just wanted to tell Ryou everything: about her dirty past, about her unstable family, about her long-lost brother...everything. At least she knew he would be there to listen.  
  
She choked on her own sobs as she tried to speak, and the white-haired boy ran his hands through her hair as a sign of compassion. "M-My brother..." she barely whispered and a tear slipped away from her cheek and onto Ryou's hand.  
  
"H-he loved v-virtual g-games..." she buried her face in her palms yet again and Ryou waited patiently for her to relax. Her voice then came muffled from behind her hands "E-every time I play virtual reality..." she murmured miserably "I-I remember him..."  
  
It was all hazy for Serenity. She just started wailing uncontrollably, completely hysterical by now. Ryou wordlessly gathered her shaking body in his embrace and stayed silent. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck and her hands were tangled in his sweater. All she wanted right now was the presence of another human being, and Ryou understood that.  
  
This kind of breakdown had happened to her before, of course, but this time there was someone to take care of her and all she wanted to do was express herself. So she cried like that for a long time and Ryou's arms tightened mutely around her every time a sob racked her throat.  
  
It was all an outburst of emotion. She needed his presence, she needed his arms around her and every time she thought of the happiness she was finally experiencing, more tears filled her eyes. It wasn't about Joey any more. Now it was for herself. She needed to cry and be heard finally. She wanted to be held and caressed by someone, at last. She craved to feel something real apart from her mothers hugs and kisses. She needed another person.  
  
Ryou realized all this and held her tighter. He himself had longed for another person. So many years locked in a cell had almost driven him to real insanity. All the pain and desperation of being left to the mercy of an enraged, homicidal Yami Bakura had finally found its way to his heart. He thought he only needed rest and death, but soon he realized that there was more he wanted. He wanted to share his feelings with someone. He wanted a person to come along and say they need him. So far, only Bakura had said he needed Ryou because they were partners, but there was no sign of actual compassion...  
  
The thing Ryou craved the most was to be accepted and wanted by others- after all, he was detached from his own world. The only thing that could give his new life true meaning was the need to help another person. Serenity needed him now, and in a way, he needed her too to complete his psyche.  
  
Two lost souls just stayed there, embracing and holding onto each other desperately. Who knows what pain and torture had been bottled up inside both their hearts? So Serenity cried and cried for what seemed like an Eternity, but her tears had been turned from sad ones to happy.  
  
Someone was there for her. Someone she had respected and even liked was holding her and comforting her. Finally, she was being taken care of. Finally, another man had recognized her inner turmoil and was helping her. All these years of pain had not gone to waste. Finally.  
  
After what seemed like hours of compassion, Serenity's sobs ceased and only silent tears escaped her eyes. She hesitantly detached herself from Ryou's embrace, distantly realizing she had completely wet his sweater with her tears. He let his grip on her body loosen lightly and he silently waited.  
  
She noted inwardly she would repay him for that later and slowly raised her eyes to meet his. No words were needed to express what his warm mahogany orbs told her. He was waiting for her to finish, waiting for her get it totally out of her system. She blinked slowly, and more tears ran down her cheekbones.  
  
Instinctively, she fell back deep in his open arms, sinking in his warm body, cherishing the feeling of being able to do that. He immediately wrapped his hands around her, this time holding her in a gentle hug.  
  
Her hands were held against his chest and her fingers played absently with a few long white strands of his hair. Her rivery eyes watched her own finger twirl his hair around in a loving fashion. She suddenly felt in debt for this man. He had helped her so much...he at least needed an explanation.  
  
She sighed heavily, not caring to compose her actions because she wanted to take full advantage of the new- found feeling of freedom around another person. All the fake smiles and all the unwavering cheer had gotten to her at last. Now she just wanted to be her true self and was finally show her feelings.  
  
It felt awkward to open her mouth and speak after all that time, but she knew Ryou was waiting for an explanation.  
  
"I...I have a brother...his name is Joey...and he really likes virtual reality games..." more tears slid away from her eyes and were absorbed by Ryou's thick white blazer.  
  
And so Serenity's tragic story came to the open for the first time. She told him everything: about the Catacombs, about her drunkard father, about her brother and his dreams of making virtual games, about the way she had fled from home...everything. He just stayed silent and listened, occasionally interrupting her to ask a few questions in a friendly manner. He would urge her to continue every time she seemed hesitant and she reached even the darkest corners of her memory to spill out for him.  
  
She revealed her never-ending guilt and the sorrow that plagued her in her sleep every night. As she talked to him, her voice was gaining courage and self-confidence. She was finally opening up to someone and she was trying to make the best of it.  
  
At that time, she didn't really acknowledge the fact that it was Ryou who was holding her. In her eyes, Ryou's form had become the imageless fantastic figure that would finally listen to her story and take all her troubles away from her.  
  
"And so...I came to KaibaCorp...to gain enough money...and save my brother. That's where I met you." She finished distantly and suddenly became aware that Ryou's back had found its way on a nearby armchair and head was settled on his lap. How had THAT happened? She didn't remember moving a muscle all this time, but she was probably too absorbed in her memory to notice anything at all...  
  
Ryou really felt the urge to ask her about how he had become young again, and what had everyone meant when they talked about 'Operation Rewind 1'. Nevertheless, he knew that these questions would have to wait. Right now, he had to help her with her own problems.  
  
He felt her squirm around and she slowly –almost solemnly- left his embrace. He felt strangely cold and detached now that he wasn't in contact with her body any more and he fought the urge to take her in his arms yet again. After all, that would seem crazy to her.  
  
She was now sitting on the floor, her back facing him. He just waited for what would come next. He saw the back of her head turn around slightly "Thank you." She said quietly, a grateful tone filling her voice.  
  
She turned around to fully face him and locked her gaze with his. "Thank you for listening to me. I've never told anyone about this before..." She murmured and her voice broke lightly. She blinked slowly, making unshed tears threaten to spill again.  
  
Ryou quickly reached his pocket and took something out. He stretched his hand towards her and she could only stare.  
  
He has holding that white handkerchief. It was her own hanky, the one she had given him before Rewind 1.  
  
Now it was her turn to take that hanky from his hands, how ironic, really. That hanky was kind of their secret, special bond. Albeit she was sure that Ryou didn't feel the same way about her, she reveled at the thought of sharing something special with him. Yet she couldn't bring herself to take it from his hands.  
  
She just smiled at him and tears totally blurred her vision. Crystal droplets fell from her eyes, but this time it was pure happiness that made her cry. He realized she was not going to take his offering so he reached out and wiped her tears himself.  
  
The thin, silky handkerchief absorbed all her tears and she smiled at the feeling of being taken care of. He smiled in response to her feelings.  
  
His hand was on her cheek when she reached her own palm and put it over his.  
  
The roles were suddenly reversed, but it was the same scene. It was replaying in his mind over and over again. He remembered his aged hand touching hers as she put that same piece of cloth on his cheek.  
  
This moment was so magical in its own way... This time they were both smiling, and Serenity was looking at him with such admiration in her eyes. That unconscious attraction was making them both lean forward.  
  
They were getting dangerously close to each other and his hand now had a steel grasp of her face. Their faces were just inches apart and Ryou felt his heartbeat quicken painfully.  
  
'Oh my God...?' he heard his mind shout to him frantically 'what' s happening to me? Why am I not relaxed? Wha-?' his eyes had a glazed look and they were starting to close as he neared her face even more.  
  
Serenity felt her own breath catch in her throat and she didn't know whether she was dreaming or not. She closed her eyes in fervent anticipation. He was so close that she could breathe his hot exhalation. He was so close- so close...  
  
"BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP." A loud alarm pierced their ears. Their eyes snapped open at once and they jerked violently away from each other, each one having a frantic heartbeat in their chest.  
  
Ryou's hand had become a fist and he was unconsciously squeezing the delicate, wet handkerchief. His eyes fixed on a suddenly very interesting spot on the floor and he just couldn't bring himself to speak. 'So close...' he only kept thinking.  
  
Serenity was dumbfounded completely. Her eyes had focused at the wall with an absent-minded stare. The incessant ringing of the alarm was penetrating her ears, but all she could think of was 'W-Was he trying to kiss me?' her blood throbbed painfully in her heart 'Am I the one he...loves?'  
  
That was the only thing that crossed her dazed mind before the annoying alarm stopped and a manly deep voice echoed from the spaceship speakers.  
  
"Everyone report to the bridge!" Taichi yelled in exasperation. 'I repeat, report to the bridge! Kaiba spotted us! We're under attack! Hurry!'  
  
Serenity's frantic heartbeat suddenly accelerated even more in anxiety. She saw Ryou hop to his feet instantly. Kaiba was here! Attacking them! What would they do? They were lost and alone in the middle of space! What to do?  
  
One shock was coming after another for Ryou, who didn't know which was worse: almost totally losing control and kissing Serena or being killed by that tall, blue-eyed maniac?  
  
Unable to take control of his actions, he shoved his precious handkerchief in his pocket and turned to the sitting, and apparently still shocked, Serenity. He really didn't want to have eye contact with her after the recent events, but the urgency of the situation left him no choice or time.  
  
"Come on, Serena!" he shouted to be heard above the impending alarms. He grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her upwards. She quickly avoided his eyes and he felt a huge weight pull his stomach down. Did she hate him now?  
  
No time to contemplate, though. He roughly pulled her towards the door. They ran to the outside corridor with was lighted by red flashing lights of alarms.  
  
Serenity was feeling very nervous suddenly. She felt Ryou tug at her arm and she ran behind him, their hands still keeping a death-lock.  
  
She marveled at the resolved way he moved and the delicate- yet strong- way he ran. Just as she watched him she felt her frantic heartbeat cool down. She was with him, right? Nothing could go wrong if he was there to protect her. And he would always be there, Serenity knew that much. She smiled a unique, sincere smile that seemed out of place at that moment.  
  
She took a long look at the man running in front of her. His white hair sparkling with red light, his long limbs hitting the hard floor fervently making his boyish figure take a new dimension as he ran... She had trusted this person with everything. He knew everything about her that no one else –not even Mark- did. Her smile became wider. She would never regret trusting him.  
  
Ryou accelerated his pace, forcing his companion to go faster. They reached a corner and Ryou violently ran around it. He suddenly felt his grip on Serenity break and he turned around. She had stopped and was panting for breath.  
  
"Come, Serena!" he said as he approached her "We're almost there!" she looked at him tiredly and nodded. She grasped his arm and held on it. They started running again and they soon saw the door of the main deck greet them. Ryou gave one last tug at her hand and they went through the door.  
  
The sight that greeted them was one of confusion and mayhem. Red flashes were shining in alarm as Rika and Lena were standing fearfully next to the commander's seats. Taichi and Kenji were occupying the said seats and Marik was nearby, messing with some controls that Ryou recognized as the 'radar panels'. Ryou thought that no one else could see his Yami, who was standing ominously next to Marik, trying to see what the tanned boy was doing.  
  
Marik saw them come in and shouted to Kenji to switch off the alarm. Kenji obliged and the ringing and flashlights of the alarms were finally set off. Ryou let go of Serenity's arm and ran to Marik.  
  
Unbeknownst to everyone except Marik, Ryou threw a meaningful glance at Bakura's direction. Marik realized Ryou was possibly talking to Bakura through their mind link. Who knew what they were saying? To Marik's fascination, Bakura didn't disappear in his ring. Instead, he stepped beside Ryou and looked around.  
  
Ryou didn't seem phased and he simply ignored his Darkside. Marik realized that Ryou probably believed no one could see Bakura and so he left him stay outside.  
  
Marik saw Serenity run beside Ryou with a curiously tearstained face. She didn't know she stepped right through Bakura in the process of running to Ryou.  
  
Marik and Ryou heard Bakura growl. 'I hate it when that happens.' Bakura murmured. Ryou glared at him in a disapproving way. Marik, of course, pretended not to notice. Bakura glared back at Ryou insistently but he was obviously too late. Ryou's golden ring flashed with a soft glow and Bakura disappeared.  
  
Brightside!!Bakura growled from within Ryou's head. I'll get you for that!  
  
Ryou rolled his eyes inwardly and decided not to mess with an angry Bakura. Instead, he turned his gaze to Serenity who looked a bit confused. He averted his gaze to Marik who had stayed mysteriously silent all this time.  
  
"...What's going on?" Ryou asked urgently.  
  
Marik took his queue to answer. "A couple of Kaiba's spacecrafts tracked us down! Now they're hot on our trail..."  
  
"MARIK!" Taichi screamed at the top of his lungs. Marik's attention snapped to the ship's commander "CHECK THE THERMO RADAR!" Taichi continued.  
  
Marik turned back to the control panels he had been tinkering with. Ryou and Serenity rushed to each of his sides and looked at the radar. Two red dots were flashing in a blue background. Although Ryou was clueless, Marik seemed extremely alerted.  
  
"They're very close!" Marik shouted to Kenji. "The thermal scan proves they have missiles equipped!"  
  
Kenji nodded quickly and focusing on the ship controls. Meanwhile, Ryou turned to Marik "Isn't there some sort of weapon we can use?!"  
  
Marik was very alert and somewhat jumpy "This is an escape pod! Escape pods don't have battle stations!" he told Ryou.  
  
Ryou looked somewhat thunderstruck "Then what ado we do?" he asked. Marik glanced around "We pull the shields up and try to run!"  
  
Serenity was keeping a steel grip on Ryou's shoulder and gasped "But we'll be like sitting ducks for Kaiba's fighters!" she exclaimed.  
  
The loud shout of the captain interrupted the three friends' conversation "Activate shield!" Taichi yelled. Then he became occupied with some gauges next to him.  
  
Serenity registered distantly that Rika and Lena were hugging each other desperately and seeking cover under a metallic table. Serenity turned to Ryou and Marik, who were standing stiffly, like frozen.  
  
Just then, yells and curses came from Taichi and Kenji. Marik grew impatient and ran to the two commanders. Ryou followed suit, with Serenity right behind him.  
  
They were now standing beside Taichi and Kenji and were just observing the captains mess with multiple levers and steering wheels. A great hologram simulation suddenly appeared in front of them. It represented their ship being chased by two others. Suddenly, and most unexpectedly, everyone felt the ship walls tremble.  
  
"HIT THE DECK!!!" Taichi screamed at the top of his lungs and at that very moment, everyone felt a savage force pull the ground away from their feet. They fell to the shaking floor, great thuds and crashing sounds echoing from around the ship.  
  
"We've been hit! Those bastards hit the shield generator!" Kenji yelled.  
  
Suddenly, the computerized voice broke out "Shields down. WARNING. Shields down. WARNING. Fuel leak. WARNING. Fuel leak. WARNING. Reporting 63% overall damage. WARNING. Evacuate immediately. WARNING."  
  
"THE SHIELD GENERATOR?" Marik shouted in rage. "HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO AIM AT IT??" Ryou was holding a frightened Serenity tightly while Rika and Lena were also curled up in defense.  
  
"QUICK! WE HAVE NO SHIELD!" Kenji yelled at no one in particular while taking the controls of the ship and trying to lead it to a direction. Apparently, the crash had made the ship totally lose course.  
  
Marik searched for Taichi but couldn't find him.  
  
"Oh my God, he's hit!" Rika suddenly screamed, pointing at the lying body of Taichi. Serenity gasped and ran to him, escaping Ryou's grasp. She turned to Marik "He hurt his head!"  
  
Marik and Ryou's eyes widened. Kenji turned to them in lightning speed. "The ship is highly damaged!" he shouted "There's no way we can reach Earth! Our fuel supplies are running low!"  
  
Marik ran and stood behind Kenji "It doesn't matter!" he shouted "Just land it at the closest planet!"  
  
Kenji nodded vigorously and gasped. "They're still after us! They'll follow us!"  
  
"Whatever!" Serenity cried while cradling Taichi' s hurt skull in her arms "Just land the god-damned vessel!"  
  
Ryou seemed a bit more composed as he rushed to Kenji's side. "Can you escape them for now?"  
  
Kenji didn't speak for a while. All he did was press buttons and give orders to the computer. Ryou watched intently. Every time a violent maneuver took place, the girls would scream and Marik and Ryou would hold on to each other for dear life.  
  
Soon, Kenji sighed heavily and pointed to a hologram of a map. "This is the closest habitable planet, Yango." Kenji pointed to a planet on the map. The map zoomed in and everyone had a closer look at what seemed to be a secluded, light yellow planet.  
  
Marik's eyes widened instantly. "Yango?" he asked in disbelief "Is Yango the only close stop?" he seemed thoroughly disgruntled.  
  
Kenji nodded. "It's our only hope!" he finished as he returned to his maneuvers. The whole ship shook suddenly and Ryou fell to the floor along with Marik.  
  
"So..." Marik murmured darkly, his clear lavender eyes taking an unreadable violet shade. "...I'll go back again..."  
  
Ryou didn't hear his friend reminisce and was currently standing up next to Kenji. Marik stood up too and settled on checking the map to report how far the planet Yango was located.  
  
"It's really close!!" Kenji yelled "Marik! I need a co-pilot to land the ship!"  
  
Marik looked frozen to the spot "I have no idea how to drive a ship!" he told Kenji.  
  
Everyone then slowly turned to stare at the only available candidate...Ryou. Ryou just looked around in a frightened way. He truly resembled a mouse caught in a trap. He raised his arms in defense.  
  
"H-Hey guys..." he started, but immediately two sets of strong arms led him to the second commanders chair. 'Oh no...' Ryou shouted "I've only practiced once!" he shouted.  
  
Seeing Ryou at such a predicament, Serenity left Taichi and rushed to her beloved's side.  
  
"You can do it, Ryou!" she pleaded. Marik, who was standing next to her, nodded "No time to talk, Ryou!" He said. "You're our only hope!" Ryou gulped uncomfortably.  
  
Seeing Serenity's pleading eyes and Marik's eerie gaze was unnerving enough. Ryou looked decisively at the controls in front of him.  
  
"I'll do it." He said finally and felt everyone sigh in relief. Serenity smiled reassuringly. "I always dreamed of this when I was young...." Ryou murmured.  
  
How cheesy.a brutal voice echoed from inside his head.  
  
Ryou smiled in spite of himself and turned to Kenji who fixed his resolved gaze on the albino boy in return.  
  
Kenji kept instructing Ryou what to do next. When the time came and Kenji had to pull weird escape maneuvers in order to escape the offensive Kaiba ships, Ryou was the one who had to take full control of the landing process.  
  
Marik watched in fascination as the white-haired boy tried to order the main computer. "Outstanding learning ability..." Marik started saying. His lips curved to a grin.  
  
Too bad that for the next five minutes of the landing process, all that came from those tanned, juicy lips was yells, screams, and pleas for help.  
  
The scorching yellow sun of the secluded planet Yango burned the sands of the Great Desert. The heat was unbearable in Yango, and all natives had grown accustomed to the blazing sun and the occasional sandstorms. The two thirds of Yango' s surface were covered with desert sands and only one third was left for the poor, isolated residents.  
  
Yango only had one town, Virna, where all the overly poor and scum of the universe was gathered. There was no technological development whatsoever, no skyscrapers, no Catacombs...nothing. All there existed in the town were igloo-shaped huts and underground crypts.  
  
Most residents of Yango had never even seen the sea or a river. Their knowledge of water was restricted in the few glasses they drank a day, provided to them by the government, which took water supplies from underground coves. It was in the outskirts of this ghetto-town and near the desert sands, that our heroic ship finally landed.  
  
Surprisingly, the sparkly green pod produced metallic legs that gracefully touched the ground. Inside the pod, Rika and Lena were laying on the floor, unmoving and exhausted from screaming.  
  
Marik and Serenity were trying to recover from the shock of experiencing Ryou's first time as a pilot, while taking care of a hurt Taichi. Kenji was limply sitting on his chair, thanking all holy powers for keeping him alive.  
  
Ryou, on the other hand was bouncing up and down on his armchair excitedly. "Did I do well? How about it? Let's do it again!" he was saying.  
  
At that last phrase, Serenity and Marik exchanged panicked glances. Kenji looked even more exhausted and groaned. "I think I'm gonna throw up..." he murmured and Marik couldn't help but sympathize.  
  
Serenity stood up abruptly and glanced at everyone. "Taichi' s hurt! We need help, fast!"  
  
Marik recovered at the sound of her urgent words. "Yes! Kaiba's ships are probably still after us!"  
  
Ryou blinked at that and was brought back to reality. "But the ship is damaged...we can't take off...we have to repair it!"  
  
Kenji looked at Ryou with a look that clearly stated 'No shit, Sherlock.' Going through hell while trying to land a ship could make people bitter, after all.  
  
Marik, however, seemed to listen carefully and reflect. Serenity mimicked his actions, while the other girls were trying to recover from all the shocks that they had been through.  
  
"We know nothing about this god-forsaken place...who knows if we can ever repair our ship..." Kenji started saying but was interrupted by a triumphant Marik.  
  
"Think again!" he shouted, thus shocking an already irritated Lena "Haven't I told you I went to Mercury when I was seventeen? Where do you think I used to live the rest of my life?"  
  
Kenji and Serenity just stared, while Ryou looked positively exuberant. "Yango!" Ryou, Serenity and Kenji yelled simultaneously. Marik smiled his trademark seductive smile.  
  
"I know every little piece of dirt on this land..." he said darkly "and they will never get us while we're here..."  
  
Ryou looked very thoughtful "We must hurry, then! Kaiba's goons are still after us! What will we do with the ship until we can repair it?"  
  
Marik looked thoroughly amused. "Those dorks are completely ignorant! They'll probably land their ships in the middle of the desert –which covers more than half of this planet, by the way." Marik chuckled. "Even if they do somehow manage to land around here, we can always camouflage our ship...Right?"  
  
Kenji looked devastated "No do." He said "The generators are destroyed...actually, everything's destroyed. We'll never get this piece of junk fixed in time."  
  
Marik didn't look very happy about that, his lavender eyes flashed awkwardly and he sighed. Ryou took his turn to speak.  
  
"You know what, Marik?" he started. "Let's leave this pod here and go to the town in search for a new one...or even a way to repair this one...Let's just leave it here. If Kaiba's people find it, at least we won't be inside..."  
  
Marik seemed thoughtful "But that will only serve as a reassuring that we're on this planet." He countered. Ryou nodded.  
  
"You say you come from this place, right?" Ryou asked and Marik nodded in response "Well then it will be easy to mingle with the locals...we'll go unnoticed. Even if they find the pod...they'll need to search extra hard to find US."  
  
Marik nodded lightly in understanding, a bright gleam suddenly lighting his troubled orbs. "Maybe we can stay at my old place! Rishid will help us!"  
  
Everyone seemed a bit lost at that, and Marik laughed in a deep, earthy sound. "You'll meet Rishid soon. Don't worry, he'll surely help us."  
  
Serenity piped in the conversation suddenly "We also need to get Taichi to a hospital."  
  
Marik seemed alerted at that. "No, Serenity. No hospitals. We' re going incognito, remember? We're all Doctors, so we can take care of Taichi at home."  
  
Serenity nodded somewhat worriedly. Ryou glanced at her and understood her problem at once. "How will we carry him around without attracting attention?"  
  
Marik gave a sexy, lop-sided grin at that. "If you're a part of Yango...you must dress like a part of Yango..." he said mysteriously.  
  
"Whatever..." Kenji started worriedly "But we have to be quick. Kaiba may be lurking around every corner. He might be on his way here as we speak."  
  
Marik smiled darkly, his lavender eyes shining with their mysterious, exotic glow.  
  
Marik had just come back from his little trip to the town bazaar. Along with him he brought multiple white linen clothes, even more white shawls, brown sandals, some brown sheets and what looked like black paint.  
  
"Okay..." Serenity said. Marik chuckled.  
  
"Any news from Kaiba? Did they find our ship?" Marik questioned.  
  
"No. Everything' s quiet." Ryou answered wearily.  
  
Marik chuckled childishly at that "Those idiots. I told you they'd never find their way around here!" he exclaimed. Kenji just shook his head signaling 'Whatever, boss.'  
  
Serenity was tending to Taichi' s wounds with the help of Lena and Rika who had obviously decided to be useful for a change.  
  
"Come on, everyone!" Marik yelled in a sing- song voice "Camouflage for everybody!" –this planet seemed to trigger Marik's seductive, childish behavior- Serenity and Ryou noted.  
  
Rika and Lena rushed to the handsome boy's side and Kenji rolled his eyes. Serenity and Ryou smiled wordlessly at each other and walked to Marik's side.  
  
Marik told Rika to take out her handy make-up kit. He instructed her to cover everyone's face, hands and legs with make up, so that their skin would look dark and tanned.  
  
Ryou almost had a shock when he looked at his reflection. "I look like Marik!" he shouted. "I'm black!"  
  
Marik had just huffed indignantly and made no comments. All he did was give a pathetic sniffle and turn to occupy himself with Taichi' s recovering body.  
  
"Next stage!" Marik shouted when everyone's skin looked tanned enough "Wear these!" he shouted. He handed everyone with a linen white robe.  
  
He, himself, preserved a short-sleeved, square collar robe, which reached a little under his knees. Ryou and Kenji came out with similar attire, while the three girls appeared wearing no-sleeved, ankle-long white dresses. White shawls were pulled around their faces, hiding everything under their nose. (AN: how Arabian...)  
  
Marik nodded in approval. He then grabbed the 'black paint' vase he had bought. He took out a little black brush that went with the whole set and dipped it in the paint.  
  
He motioned for Ryou to stand next to him and he carefully drew black outlines under each of his eyes. Marik did this with every single person and everyone was shocked to realize they now had Marik's tanned skin AND Marik's trademark black eyeliner.  
  
Marik grinned at their puzzled faces. "Remember: " he chuckled "Look like a local!"  
  
They covered Taichi' s unconscious body with brown thick sheets and carried it on their backs. "Let's go!" Marik shouted fervently. "Don't get lost in the sand! Just follow me!"  
  
They left the smashed spaceship as quickly as possible. When they got off, a sudden wave of nauseating heat struck them. No wind blew whatsoever, and the sand was hot beneath their sandals.  
  
Especially Ryou, who was not exactly used to being exposed at such intent sun, was having a hard time to keep from fainting.  
  
They suddenly found themselves in what looked like a huge, endless desert. Sand mountains and pits flew all around them- everything bathed in the color of sand.  
  
"This way!" Marik yelled as he progressed towards a sand mountain. Everyone groaned at the prospective of having to climb up the hill. It was worse for Ryou and Kenji who were carrying Taichi' s body, which was wrapped inside the brown sheets and looked like a huge sack of potatoes.  
  
"Won't he suffocate?" Serenity asked Marik as they walked, her voice slightly muffled by the shawl.  
  
"Don't worry. He can breath. I'd worry about how hot he probably is..." Marik answered in a casual tone.  
  
Ryou's jaw dropped and he realized how hot Taichi must be right now. He turned to the three girls who looked identical in that clothing. Their hair was also covered by the shawls so they couldn't be distinguished. Ryou's own hair had been replaced with a brown wig. 'How irritating' he mused. That wig was quite itchy.  
  
He hadn't finished his thought when he felt Marik stop from the front. They had already reached the top of the hill. Marik stretched his arm forward and pointed. Everyone's eyes widened at what they saw.  
  
Stretched below them, bathed in the scorching sunlight was the city Marik referred to as Virna.  
  
Bazaars and alleyways completed the roads of the town. Small huts and perhaps some old shacks were located everywhere, and there was no building that succeeded the height of three meters above the ground.  
  
They could all see cloths and objects hanging from windows and doors. Ryou almost felt at home with this seemingly primitive, poor town.  
  
As they scanned the monotonous landscape, everyone's eyes stopped at a single building. It looked more like a tower, and it had the shape of a tube. It probably was the only skyscraper on that planet, since it seemed to reach the desert sky. Lights were flashing on the sides of the tower and what looked like a gigantic screen was placed at the top of the architectural wonder.  
  
Ryou noticed that Marik looked just as clueless as everybody else. The lavender eyes took that violet dark shade again and he scowled thoughtfully. "I saw it when I came to the bazaar earlier..." he said distantly "I have no idea what it is. I don't remember it being here." He finished as he turned to Ryou.  
  
Ryou nodded quietly and motioned forward. Marik turned and took a step to signal they had been gawking enough. Time to move.  
  
Everyone walked downwards and to the entrance of the city. No walls or gates guarded the city whatsoever and Ryou could only guess that the city didn't NEED guarding. It's not like anyone ever visited, anyway.  
  
"Marik..." Ryou started "Don't they have a port or something? Don't they have a shield for the sandstorms?"  
  
Marik seemed thoughtful. "They don't need ports coz no one has enough money to afford ships. They don't need shields because they run to the underground hideouts when sandstorms come...this is mainly why tall buildings don't exist."  
  
Ryou nodded in understanding. Such small talk and comments brought them to the first isolated little huts that signaled the entrance to the city.  
  
"Okay, guys..." Marik instructed "If anyone asks...we're carrying a pack of rare silk fabric but we can't sell coz it' s preordered! Okay?"  
  
Everyone agreed and they began a casual stroll down the city alleyways. Now they had gotten well into the city and everyone was keeping close for fear of getting lost.  
  
At the sides of the alleyways, poor beggars rested tiredly. Sometimes Marik and his friends happened to pass through bazaars.  
  
Ryou curiously noticed that there weren't only food or fabric that the people sold. There were also peculiar engines, maybe some parts of spaceships and other merchandise...who knew? He wanted to ask Marik about it but he could see that his exotic friend was too occupied with leading everyone down the right path.  
  
Some people threw their company peculiar glances but no one seemed to focus their attention for too long. The brown 'cargo' was what attracted most people's attention.  
  
Serenity noticed that everyone in this place had tanned skin and black lines under their eyes. Most people really looked like Marik, but no one had that truly exotic, natural touch that the blonde boy possessed.  
  
'Unbelievable.' Serenity mused 'Even among the people who look like him, Marik looks special.' Serenity also noticed that Marik had taken all forms of jewelry off. 'Logical' she thought 'Everyone in here seems to not know what jewelry IS.'  
  
As they walked further and further into the city, the heat seemed to get worse. Everyone around was talking feverishly, and Marik caught some parts of conversation like "-Who will win the tournament?" or "-I don't think he's that good...'  
  
Marik and everyone kept walking steadily and Marik and Ryou had to take turns in order to carry Taichi' s body. More than three quarters of an hour had passed when everyone finally saw the impending tall tower stand directly above them.  
  
Serenity felt a little shaken by the feeling of that skyscraper towering over her, but soon shook it off.  
  
For Marik, all the sudden commotion in the town was highly unusual. Things in Virna rarely -if ever- got interesting. What was all this traffic about? When his curiosity couldn't be held any longer, he motioned for the others to wait for him under a shady alcove. He asked Serenity and Ryou to accompany him in his little quest.  
  
The three friends noticed a nearby man talking about some kind of championship and decided to ask him what was going on.  
  
Marik casually approached the man and shook his shoulder lightly. The old man turned immediately and looked at Marik suspiciously.  
  
"Who' re you, kid?" the man asked in a country accent.  
  
Marik was a bit dumbfounded. He had forgotten how 'polite' the people of Yango were to strangers. "Um...I'm sorry my good sir" the blonde boy started saying, his charm flowing freely in the air "But could you tell us the reason for all the commotion around here?"  
  
The man gaped at Marik as though the young boy had just come from another planet –which he had, actually, but the man didn't know that.  
  
"Are you serious?" he asked incredulously, but Marik seemed unshaken. "You mean you don't know about the Great Virtual Reality Game Tournament?!" he asked.  
  
Marik blinked in an innocent way "Um...no. You see, me and my friends have been trying to track down all kinds of fabric sellers in the desert and have been away for quite some time..."  
  
The man seemed enlightened "Oh...I see" he eyed Marik suspiciously once again "So how's old man Gretti? You know, the best seller in the Northern Desert?"  
  
Marik gave a sly, mystical grin. His clear lavender eyes sparkled with mirth and amusement. Ryou, on the other hand, was watching intently with Serenity shaking in trepidation.  
  
"Haven't seen him since he died six years ago." Marik finally answered.  
  
Ryou and Serenity tried not to jump up and down and laugh at the man's face.  
  
The old person chuckled heartily and patted Marik's shoulder. Marik laughed along with him and the man obliged to tell the handsome boy about this 'tournament'.  
  
"Ya know how boring it's been these last few months, so the government thought they'd spice it up a little..." the old man started in a hearty voice, completely different from the suspicious one before. Marik seemed immensely interested, which made the man continue.  
  
"They arranged this huge tournament around here, where players would be able to play in all the arcade bar shops! Each player was given a see- through locator card. The first four people who could manage to get six of those cards would enter the semi-finals. The two people who would win the semi-finals would compete to the finals! "  
  
Marik's interest was captivated and his eyes sparkled lightly "Really? Cool! Too bad we missed most of it!"  
  
The man shrugged lightly. "The good thing is you'll get to see the finals! "he exclaimed. Marik raised a slender eyebrow.  
  
"Finals?"  
  
"Uh-huh..." the man said "I'm surprised you didn't see it! Look!" the old guy pointed at the humungous screen that was placed on the tall tower. The screen was flashing occasionally. Marik saw the faces of two people flash on the screen. Then came the words 'Yugi VS Pegasus ( Match of the Millennium'  
  
Marik raised an inquisitive eyebrow yet again. "Yugi? Pegasus?" he asked in disbelief 'How come I don't know anything about these people...and this tower?' he thought.  
  
The old man noticed Marik's stare. "The heat is on for the final match between Pegasus and the little lad, Yugi...Yugi and Peg will fight at the roof of the tower. We'll all see the game through that screen! Cool, huh?"  
  
Marik really wanted to ask about that tower, but thought it would be a little too weird to ask about that. Thus, he settled on simply getting rid of his current source of information.  
  
"Totally..." he said in an innocent tone. "Listen, man, I gotta go! Thanks for filling me in! All this traffic was getting on my nerves!"  
  
The old man smiled and nodded. Marik took his friends' arms and walked back to where the others were standing.  
  
"What a suspicious old man!" Serenity told Ryou quietly. The former albino boy nodded.  
  
"Did he absolutely have to make sure he could trust us with all those trap questions?" he wondered aloud.  
  
Marik turned to them and smiled mysteriously. "Do you understand how I learned to lie and seduce?" he asked "It's necessary if you live in this place...."  
  
Serenity huffed and shook her head disapprovingly. Ryou lifted Taichi' s body with the help of Kenji and everyone started walking again. Serenity told Rika, Lena and Kenji about what they had learned and now everyone looked at the great screen of the tower.  
  
"Yugi VS Pegasus ( Match of the Millennium."  
  
'Why match of the Millennium? What's with the tower? Who's Yugi and Pegasus?' Marik wondered 'I'll ask Rishid about everything.' He concluded.  
  
When he noticed that the crowd was slowly starting to disperse he turned to the others and whispered "Be patient...we're almost there..."  
  
"Thank God." Rika exclaimed "I can't bare this heat any longer!"  
  
"Think about poor Taichi!" Lena answered as she watched Marik switch places with Kenji in lifting Taichi up. "What will he have to say about this?!"  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by Marik who suddenly stopped walking. They were now standing in front of a casual little hut, which was surrounded by blue looking fungus.  
  
Marik shook his head 'Rishid never changes.' He thought. Slowly and somewhat hesitantly, he reached the panel beside the door. He pressed his finger on it and at once, a doorbell rung.  
  
Ryou looked at him curiously and Marik shrugged. "Yango homes don't have internal computers, they have doorbells...thus they're what you call "normal", Ryou." Marik said and everyone chuckled.  
  
Everyone waited a bit impatiently for the door to open. Finally, the metallic door snapped and slid open, to reveal a blue cloaked, tall, and overall intimidating figure. Marik was the only one who seemed completely unfazed.  
  
"Hello Rishid! How are you'?" the bleach-blonde boy asked.  
  
The man that Marik called Rishid raised his head. Everyone could see the outline of a strong jaw and protruding cheekbones. Rishid raised his hands and let his hood slip down, revealing a tanned face with tropical characteristics and sparkling, seemingly snake-like green eyes. Black lines outlined Rishid' s unearthly eyes and at the side of his face, an intricate scar was forming shapes of hieroglyphics.  
  
Serenity gulped involuntarily as she saw the slashes of the scar. Blood had long ago dried up, only to be replaced with black paint that sparkled as a weird tattoo.  
  
"Lord Marik" Rishid spoke with an overly serious, humble voice. 'Lord Marik?' Serenity thought 'Now were did that come from?'  
  
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, as Rishid sunk to his knees and fell in front of Marik's feet. Marik smiled in a way Serenity had never seen him smile before. It was such a tender and wistful grin. Rishid must have been of great importance to her handsome friend.  
  
Marik ethereally bent down and stroked the back of Rishid' s bald head. "Get up, Rishid." Marik kindly said. Rishid instantly rose up again and looked exuberant.  
  
"My lord, may I speak?" he questioned humbly, his eyes always plastered to the floor.  
  
Marik nodded in the same kind and tender fashion. Ryou felt Bakura's interest spark in his mind and quickly hushed the curious spirit.  
  
"My Lord I am so happy to see you!" Rishid said with a wistful look "You have grown."  
  
Marik smiled in a slow, charming way. "I'm happy to see you too, Rishid." He then turned to the others. "This is Rishid." He introduced "A loyal friend and servant of mine for as long as I can remember...these are my friends, Rishid. We've come along way...Marik said meaningfully.  
  
Naturally, Rishid caught the point and led them into the house. The door closed behind them and everyone immediately sighed in relief. The inside of the house maintained a perfect cool temperature. Ryou wasn't very curious about how that could be done...he was just glad that he had the chance to enjoy normal climate again.  
  
They unceremoniously dropped Taichi' s body to the floor. This alerted Rishid, of course, but he chose to say nothing.  
  
"Marik..." Serenity said urgently while tugging on her friend's sleeve. "Taichi needs help."  
  
Marik nodded quickly. "Rishid and I will take care of him. Make yourselves at home."  
  
The girls were more than happy to oblige and fell limply on a couple of armchairs. Kenji followed their lead, while Ryou helped Marik and Rishid carry Taichi to a bedroom.  
  
Serenity realized they would need her help as a doctor to mend Taichi' s wounds, so she rushed to follow Ryou. As she walked, she absently noticed the decoration of the house. Gold ornaments hung from every wall and mysterious carpets spread on each floor. The whole house had this peculiar smell of palm trees and cinnamon.  
  
All this screamed 'Marik ' to her and she would have investigated some more if Ryou hadn't come out of a door suddenly.  
  
"Marik said he' ll take care of Taichi himself." Ryou told her calmly. "Let's go relax, Serena." Ryou ushered her back to the living room, where all their friends were talking about the virtual game tournament.  
  
"I hope Taichi is okay!" Serenity told Ryou and he just smiled tenderly at her. At that moment, a scene from earlier that day flashed in her mind and she remembered the way Ryou had almost kissed her.  
  
'So close...' she thought dejectedly, as she smiled back to Ryou's calm face. 'So close.'  
  
Marik had finally managed to use their supplies in order to clean and properly aid Taichi' s wounds. Now the boy was resting soundly on Rishid' s bed.  
  
While tending to Taichi, Marik had made sure to tell Rishid all the story about Kaiba and becoming fugitives. Nevertheless, Marik expertly avoided telling his old friend about his sudden mind-controlling abilities and the fact that he could see an ancient spirit called Bakura.  
  
He advised Rishid not to mention anything about Rewind 1 in front of Ryou, because Ryou didn't know anything about it and some things were better left unsaid. When Marik was done with his story and Taichi' s wounds, he turned to his servant.  
  
"What about you, Rishid?" he asked. "What happened here?"  
  
Rishid looked blank for a minute but answered nonetheless "Nothing interesting happened here, my Lord. Ever since you left to go to university in Mercury three years ago, all the kids got obsessed with these new games."  
  
Marik huffed "Kids these days only think about electronics! I remember I only liked to mess with machines when I was a kid."  
  
"But, my Lord, aren't those electronics also...?" Rishid asked seriously.  
  
Marik blinked simply. "Ahem...I'm sorry, Rishid, you were saying?"  
  
"A new game company moved in town. The owner is that man called Pegasus. He built that huge tower as his company's headquarters and they produce this game called 'Digimon'...now the tournament finals are here...you know the rest, I suppose..."  
  
Marik nodded absently and observed Rishid thoroughly. The tall man's eyes were turned to the ground as a sign of humility.  
  
"So, how have YOU been, Rishid?" Marik asked.  
  
"I'm fine, Master." Rishid simply answered, without turning to look at the blonde boy. It was a shock for Rishid when he felt his own Master's arms lift him up and hug him tightly.  
  
"I missed you, brother." Marik said while holding Rishid's tall form. "You should have come with me when I asked you to."  
  
Rishid smiled and closed his eyes, cherishing the rare moments Marik showed TRUE compassion to anything or anyone.  
  
"I missed you too." He murmured as he held the frail young boy tightly.  
  
"Come, brother, we must go." Marik said quietly as he released Rishid and walked slowly to the door. Rishid started to follow his master outside.  
  
Marik then suddenly paused. He didn't turn to look at Rishid, but he did pose a question. "Why didn't you come to Mercury?" Marik asked silently and a little brokenly.  
  
Rishid just blinked, feeling absolutely flattered that Marik cared so much "You needed to learn how to survive on your own, my Lord. I stayed since you gave me the choice."  
  
Marik smiled wordlessly and walked outside. Rishid followed suit behind him.  
  
When the two of them reached the living room they were greeted with Lena and Rika's giggles as they watched Kenji, Ryou and Serenity act like Kaiba.  
  
Rishid raised an unseen eyebrow and Marik shook his head lightly. Ryou noticed them and smiled cheerfully. "Is Taichi okay?" he asked immediately. The others hushed and Kenji seemed intent on hearing about his friend's wellbeing.  
  
"He's fine. He just needs some rest." Marik said with a smile. "And you, my friends, need to renew your melting make up!"  
  
Serenity and Ryou smiled kindly while the others cheered. Suddenly, the doorbell started ringing. Rishid stoically stood and marched to the door. He stood behind it as it opened.  
  
To everyone's surprise, it revealed a brunette young girl. Her skin was clear porcelain white and she was wearing a baby-blue dress, which seemed curiously modern for this planet -where everyone always wore white linen.  
  
The girl's sparkling blue eyes matched her blue dress beautifully and her whole essence seemed to smile.  
  
Marik raised an eyebrow at this. Did this unknown girl have an affair with his servant? The girl seemed to be about nineteen to twenty years old. When the door opened, she skipped inside happily and sighed in relief.  
  
The cool house temperature was always refreshing, compared to the heat outside.  
  
"Welcome, Tea." Rishid said calmly.  
  
"Hi there, Mr. Rishid!" she smiled brightly, her sapphire eyes glinting proudly "I'm here for the cleaning!" Just then, the girl seemed to notice everyone else in the room.  
  
"Oh, you have visitors! Is it an inappropriate time?" she worriedly asked Rishid as she threw worried glances at the friends' direction.  
  
"Not at all." Rishid said "I promised you your salary this week. Just...don't clean the bedroom today." He finished. She nodded and thanked him. She immediately skipped inside and searched for what she needed.  
  
Rishid shook his head dismissively. He came back to his seat next to Marik. Lena, Rika, Kenji and Serenity were all looking at Rishid with wide eyes.  
  
'You actually have to use your HANDS to do the cleaning here?' Lena voiced everyone's thoughts. Ryou found it perfectly normal and wondered why everyone was so astonished at that.  
  
Rishid shrugged. "It is a poor planet." he simply said and left the statement hanging.  
  
Marik turned to his servant curiously. "Since when do you get lazy in cleaning, Rishid?" Marik questioned.  
  
Rishid's eyes turned respectfully to the floor at addressing his master "My lord, it's not that I'm lazy. I obliged at allowing the girl to clean the house because her family really needs the money. Her parents asked me to do it."  
  
Marik just raised an eyebrow at that but decided not to question any further. He knew that Rishid was telling the truth.  
  
"Anyway!" Serenity interrupted "Would you happen to know why the final match of the tournament is called the 'Millennium match'?"  
  
Marik's attention snapped alert. "Oh, yeah, Rishid! I wanted to ask you about that too!"  
  
Rishid bowed his head respectfully "It's quite simple, really!" he started "Firstly, it's because 'millennium' has something to do with the game they will play and secondly, it's because the winner of the final match will gain a thousand Yashta ( local currency), a brand new spaceship and the title 'King of Games'."  
  
At that last sentence, Serenity's conscience broke. 'Joey always said he'd create a game with a kid that would become the 'King of Games ' or 'Yu-gi- oh'...'  
  
Before she could stop herself, the whisper 'Joey...' left her lips. Ryou was sitting next to her, so he heard her whispers. He gathered the information he had recently learned and understood her problem. He slowly reached an arm around her shoulders.  
  
She raised her eyes and smiled at him, her gaze of sorrow becoming slightly comforted. His arm around her felt so right. Everything about him felt right.  
  
The sudden movement went unnoticed by everyone except the observant Marik, who smiled lightly. 'They have come close.' He thought.  
  
"So you say that the winner will gain the prize of a new spaceship beside other things!" Kenji asked suddenly. Rishid silently nodded.  
  
Marik and Ryou instantly followed the trail of thought.  
  
"Hey!" Ryou suddenly exclaimed. "We need a spaceship, right??"  
  
"If we could only gain that prize!" Marik answered. "Hey! Maybe we can compete and win!"  
  
"Helloooo..." Rika's feminine voice reprimanded "Aren't we forgetting something already? The finalists have already been chosen!"  
  
Rishid nodded quietly and Marik's face fell slightly. "It's true, my Lord." Rishid commented "It is best if you forget that idea..."  
  
Marik shoved his head in his palms. "How are we gonna get out of this place then? We can't BUY a ship coz there aren't any around here. We can't REPAIR our ship, coz we don't have enough money...what are we gonna do?"  
  
Ryou sighed solemnly "At this rate, all my efforts to learn how to fly a ship from our captains will go to waste..." At this, everybody glanced at the rookie in exasperation, except for Serenity who giggled.  
  
Suddenly, an overly sweet, unusual voice echoed around them. "I'm sorry, but did you say you can drive a spaceship?"  
  
Everyone turned around to look at the newcomer, but all they saw was a mop of brown hair peek around from the corner. Rishid stood up immediately.  
  
"Tea! Why are you eavesdropping? Go away!" he shouted. The sweet girl's face contorted in fear and she backed away shamefully.  
  
Marik stood up instantly when he saw that Rishid was about to practically bite her head off. "Enough, Rishid. That's enough."  
  
Rishid bowed humbly. He threw Tea a last disgusted glare before he left to sit back to his place at the couch.  
  
Marik shook his head dismissively and turned his attention to the now ashamed and intimidated Tea. He eyed her somewhat suspiciously.  
  
"Why do you want to know if we can drive spaceships?" he asked her somewhat wearily. Tea bashfully raised her head to stare into his piercing, attractive purple eyes.  
  
"I-I..." she stuttered. "I just want to know about your damaged pod." She blurted out. Marik felt Ryou stand up and walk next to him. Ryou bent near Marik and held his handsome friend' s shoulder.  
  
Ryou' s honest, sincere eyes sparkled with subtlety. "Give us one good reason to trust you." he wearily said, his innocent eyes forming a thoughtful scowl.  
  
Tea blinked silently, eyeing what seemed like a brown haired, brown eyed kind boy and his handsome blonde friend. (Remember...still camouflaged)  
  
"My best friend is the famous finalist Yugi." She stated carefully, watching everyone's expression snap in attention instantly "I think that you'd probably like to...talk to him."  
  
She watched them all glance at each other warily and decided to take matters in her own hands.  
  
"If you can truly drive a spaceship..." she chose her words carefully "Then you and Yugi may be able to come to some sort of...deal." She finished.  
  
Marik turned to look at Ryou. Lavender eyes caught in deep brown.  
  
"Yugi is a finalist...if he wins he gets a new spaceship, remember? There might be a chance we..." Marik murmured to Ryou.  
  
Ryou nodded numbly. His eyes became glazed with wisdom once again. "We should be careful now. This might be a trap. There might be a catch."  
  
Marik nodded slowly, his lavender eyes glazed over with trouble.  
  
"But...making a pact with the near champion IS our one and only shot." Marik reasoned.  
  
"Whatever we do...we must keep our eyes open." Ryou told his friend and Marik nodded. Once this little council was over, Marik turned his eerie eyes to the sweet girl.  
  
"All right, Tea. We'll take your offer." His deep, sensual voice echoed.  
  
Tea smiled brightly. She might have finally found what she was looking for.  
  
"Take us to him." Ryou said and Serenity instantly jumped to her feet and locked her arm protectively with his.  
  
Tea skipped happily to the door.  
  
"After you!" she exclaimed. 


	7. Preparations

**A special thanks to _Tramontana Keeper_ and _Lily of the Shadow_, who have been my most devoted reviewers!!!**

****

**THANKS, YOU GUYS!!! By the way, I own nothing except the plot....**

The blazing sun of Yango had finally set and the temperature had dropped dramatically. Suddenly, Marik and Ryou's company was enjoying a fresh nocturnal breeze rather than the drowning heat.  
  
They had been following Tea for quite some time and Marik was getting impatient. He would occasionally turn to Ryou and openly wonder whether or not they had made the right choice.  
  
The streets of Virna were still teeming with people. Now that the unbearable sun had left, all kinds of neon lights and lanterns adorned the alleyways. The panic and anxiety for the 'Match of the Millennium' was growing in intensity, and now everyone was talking animatedly about what kind of reality game the finals would be about.  
  
Sometimes the company saw players who had lost from Yugi and Peg. Most of them said that Yugi is unbeatable. This raised Marik's morale, of course: if they could make a deal with Yugi, it would be best to make sure Yugi would win.  
  
The night sky of Yango was deep blue and lit with thousands of stars- but no moon. Ryou focused his attention on Tea. She was strolling briskly in the direction of a secluded alleyway. Where did this Yugi live anyway? They had been walking for more than half an hour.  
  
Ryou turned to his right, where Marik was walking quietly.  
  
"Marik..." Ryou started "You know we're still dressed in these pathetic outfits..."  
  
Marik looked a bit indignant at his camouflage being called 'pathetic' but overrode it nevertheless. On second thought, Ryou WAS right. The artificial dark skin and make-up were slowly dissipating and one could clearly recognize Ryou's natural creamy skin under the layers of paint.  
  
Marik just nodded, motioning for Ryou to continue.  
  
"Well...Look at that girl, Tea. She's pale...will it be really THAT weird if we show ourselves?"  
  
Marik contemplated this for a moment. "We'll attract attention. Haven't you noticed the way everyone keeps staring at this girl? It's best if we renew your camouflage."  
  
Ryou sighed and nodded in understanding. Tea was now leading them down a deserted, dark street with a blue spotlight on the side. Eerie fog covered the whole way and Serenity was becoming more nervous by the second.  
  
She really felt like grabbing on to Ryou for comfort, but decided against it when she saw him talking to Marik. That brown wig on Ryou's head was really getting on her nerves. She wanted to see the sparkle of his silver hair flicker with gentle sways again!  
  
Serenity quickly turned around and found what she was looking for. The tall, ominous tower was now behind them, the pictures on the huge screen shone bright in the night.  
  
As they walked, Ryou kept noting that the atmosphere was getting colder and colder. This place really was like the desert- hot during the day and freezing at night.  
  
Curiously, Marik didn't seem the least bit fazed by this rapid change of climate. Ryou just watched as the handsome boy took one feathery step after another in his usual, immaculate way.  
  
Ryou turned towards Rishid, the blue-cloaked man who walked protectively a few feet beside Marik. Rishid' s face was hidden by his hood and his head seemed to be constantly turned at Marik's direction.  
  
Ryou was sure that there was something more between Marik and Rishid apart from what Marik let on. Nevertheless, Ryou wasn't the one to pry in other people's affairs, so he decided to wait and observe the upcoming course of events.  
  
It came as a bit of a shock when Tea stopped suddenly. She pointed towards a small hut, which looked like a deserted shack. Ryou and Marik stared in disbelief beside the sweet blue-eyed girl.  
  
"That's it?" Marik questioned somewhat surprised. He was expecting the popular finalist Yugi to live in a better place.  
  
" Famous Yugi lives here?" Ryou asked thoughtfully, echoing Marik's thoughts.  
  
Tea spun around sweetly and blinked. "There's more to Yugi than fame...Follow me." She finished and walked to the house's door.  
  
Marik slowly turned to Ryou and the innocent boy shrugged. 'Let's wait and see.' Ryou's eyes told the handsome blond boy.  
  
Marik nodded and walked up to Tea with Rishid and Ryou by his sides. Serenity, Lena and Rika walked after them. Kenji had been left at Rishid' s house to take care of Taichi.  
  
Tea stood next to the door and everyone waited for her to make some kind of move. When Ryou understood she wasn't about to do anything, he eyed her questioningly.  
  
She just winked cheerfully and turned to the door. "Dark Magician" she simply said. A sudden creak was heard from the seemingly wooden doors.  
  
Everyone watched, aghast, as the 'wooden' doors of the shack slid open. Marik and company realized a little too late that the door was actually metallic, painted wooden. Ryou and Marik exchanged wary glances.  
  
"Okaaay..." Marik murmured and refocused his gaze on the now open doors.  
  
Tea rushed inside "Quick! Before anyone sees us!" she urged.  
  
Everyone hurried inside and the door shut automatically behind them. Tea strolled quickly down a silver-metallic corridor. Wasn't this place a shack? Apparently not...  
  
To the sides of the slim corridor were stuck all kinds of things. They were mostly torn magazine pictures of spaceships or metallic parts from pods.  
  
Ryou glanced at Serenity, who looked completely lost. Everything around them featured spacecrafts. This person was apparently obsessed, although no one could figure out why. Rika and Lena stayed completely silent for a change and they just observed at the surroundings silently.  
  
They finally reached a metallic door, which slid open when Tea stood in front of it. She motioned for everyone to enter.  
  
What they saw next was beyond human imagination. It was a gigantic room- truly humungous. The ceiling was so low that everyone could touch it if they stretched their hands, but the feeling of grandiose surpassed everything else.  
  
On the walls were drawn entire paintings of spaceships. Someone had actually used paint to cover each and every spot of the wall. The floor was littered with ship parts and in the middle of the huge hall lay a stack of dirty engine parts.  
  
Computers that rivaled the technology of KaibaCorp could be found at various places and in the middle of all this mayhem, sitting on a shaggy armchair was a boy.  
  
Everyone looked at the boy's form curiously. They couldn't see his face properly because a Visualizer helmet covered his head. A couple of platinum- blonde locks could be seen under the helmet.  
  
Tea cheerfully skipped to the laying boy. Very warily and hesitantly she tapped a button at the back of his helmet. His shoulders shook a bit and his hands jerked around.  
  
He raised his arms and removed the helmet, revealing two smiling, innocent ruby orbs. He stood up slowly and shook his head to recover from the game grogginess.  
  
Serenity watched his lithe, snake-slim body shift under an unusual outfit. Leather black pants spread under a no-sleeved, scarlet shirt. Multiple leather bracelets were wrapped around his lower and upper arms and spiky biker belts were wrapped around his hips. This kid was a complete addict! He even had chains tied around his legs!  
  
The boy's spiky black hair was the most peculiar thing about him. The edges had been painted violet, and the few bangs that framed his face where completely blond. Everyone recognized that face as the one they had seen on the big-screen. It was Yugi Mutou, the finalist.  
  
Yugi smiled at Tea and his whole essence seemed to smile through his big, expressive eyes. He was exactly as tall as Tea (for my fic) and seemed to be about eighteen years old.  
  
Tea smiled brightly back at Yugi and glanced pointedly towards the others. The boy turned his glance to Marik and his friends.  
  
Suddenly, his gaze turned a tad wary. He obviously turned to Tea for an explanation.  
  
"These people know how to drive a ship! I thought you'd like to talk to them..." she said in an exultant fashion.  
  
Yugi' s cute ruby eyes widened. "Y-You know how to drive ships?" he asked Marik excitedly, his eyes sparkling with admiration.  
  
Marik glanced at Ryou promptly. "Not me, personally...but my friends do." He answered.  
  
Yugi smiled so brightly that Marik thought a little sun was shining in the room.  
  
The boy's huge eyes smiled. "I'm Yugi Mutou." He stated extending a hand towards Marik. "Call me Yugi."  
  
Marik shook the boy's hand "My name's Marik" he motioned to Ryou "and this is Ryou."  
  
Yugi extended a handshake to Ryou and noticed the boy's...disheveled appearance. He caught a glimpse of white under Ryou's brown hair and became a bit confused.  
  
Ryou, on the other hand, had noticed where Yugi' s other hand was. He was holding something that looked like a golden locket that was around his neck. It was surely gold and it had the shape of a small pyramid.  
  
When Yugi noticed where Ryou was staring, he quickly let go of the golden pyramid. Ryou's eyes widened considerably and he suddenly held Yugi' s handshake with a tight grasp.  
  
When Ryou took a better look at Yugi' s locket, he noticed that something was carved on it....It looked like an eye. It was the same eye that was drawn on his golden ring- the ring that brought Bakura...  
  
/Can you see it?/ Ryou questioned Bakura /Yami, it's the same as your ring!/  
  
...  
  
Ryou sensed Bakura's power spark in the ring. The ring that was shoved inside Ryou's clothes glowed suddenly and Ryou's eyes changed. A fierce, red-amber shine sparkled inside them. Bakura had taken over.  
  
He warily let go of the oblivious Yugi' s hand and eyed the boy with a death-glare.  
  
"What's that around your neck?" he asked Yugi gruffly and the young boy's eyes widened in surprise. Marik, who had instantly noticed the change in Ryou was now holding Bakura's shoulder in alert.  
  
"Umm..." Yugi started "I...I got it from somewhere!"  
  
"Is that so..."  
  
Bakura looked ready to continue the rude interrogation. He locked glances with Marik, who was shaking his shoulder.  
  
"What?" Bakura asked the handsome boy.  
  
"Forget Yugi' s locket...RYOU...we can talk about that later..." Marik said in a sly, persuasive voice.  
  
Bakura blinked at the command. He really wanted to bite Marik's head off and tell him that no one tells Bakura what to do, but suddenly, a strange pain in the back of his head broke his willpower.  
  
Bakura tried to oppose Marik's order, he really did. Every time he thought about disobeying Marik, though, a tremendous pain broke his mind.  
  
"F...Fine." he croaked finally, and granted Marik a promising glare. Marik promised himself he'd mend his social problems with Bakura later.  
  
Unbeknownst to everyone, the ring glowed faintly in Ryou's pocket and the boy's eyes returned to a kind, innocent gaze. He suddenly stared at Yugi with a panicked gaze.  
  
"I'm really sorry for being so rude! I-I don' t know what got into me!"  
  
Yugi looked thoroughly confused. There was something different about this Ryou boy...something he couldn't pinpoint but knew was there.  
  
"It's okay...don't worry." Yugi answered with a smile and moved towards the girls in order to introduce himself.  
  
While Yugi was shaking hands with Serenity, who looked a bit alerted after Ryou's character change, Marik was throwing wary glances at Ryou. Thankfully, Tea and the other girls hadn't really noticed Ryou's problem. But what would Yugi think?  
  
'Damn it, Bakura!' Marik thought 'Your anger is just uncontrollable. But...why did you actually listen to my will?' Marik grabbed his head with both hands. This was getting too confusing for him after all...  
  
Ryou himself was having similar thoughts.  
  
/Yami, what were you thinking?/  
  
Bakura huffed That kid has a weird aura. There's more to him than it seems...  
  
/Do you realize the consequences of your actions?/ Ryou shouted desperately.  
  
Bakura sounded enraged Do you realize that the Yugi brat may be the key to finding out what happened to me in the past?!  
  
Ryou' s thoughts froze. Was that really possible? Was there a connection? /Look Yami.../ Ryou said in an understanding tone /I promise I'll find out as much as I can about Yugi...but please swear that you'll never jump out in front of everyone again! Especially Serena!/  
  
Bakura just smirked and Ryou indignantly shouted. /Promise!/  
  
Fine, fine...I promise. Happy now, Brightside?  
  
/...yes./  
  
Bakura smirked again and Ryou continued /I'll find out about Yugi for sure!/  
  
Bakura shut their link there and grinned lightly. Ryou could be so unnaturally kind, sometimes... even to a mean, irate spirit who had destroyed his life. That's why Bakura loved Ryou so much- because he understood him. Ryou could never know that, of course.  
  
Back to the outside world, Yugi had offered everyone a seat on a dusty old couch. Marik glanced around suspiciously.  
  
"So Yugi..." Marik started "How come this technological wonder like your house is blossoming in a place like Yango?"  
  
Yugi chuckled lightly "Well, Marik...How come a bunch of locals know how to drive spaceships?"  
  
Marik blinked and realized Yugi thought of them all as Yango residents. He smiled slyly "Well, Yugi...I'll tell you a little secret if you tell me one."  
  
Ryou looked alert at this course of events. "Watch where you're going..." he murmured to Marik who nodded reassuringly.  
  
Yugi looked immensely interested "Go on..."  
  
Marik raised a slender, seductive eyebrow "Well...not everything is what it seems. We might look like locals but...we're not exactly from around here. I'll explain later."  
  
Yugi nodded, his eyes glazed by a thoughtful gaze. "I understand..." he said and his eyes fluttered to Ryou's direction. That silver color beneath Ryou's hair was still bothering him. "So what do you want to know about me?"  
  
Marik glanced briefly around and bent forward in a secretive way. "Why do you want someone who can drive ships?"  
  
Yugi looked relieved that Marik had chosen to ask that. He couldn't bare another sudden question about his golden locket. "Well..." he started "I've loved space engines ever since I could walk. I've gathered all kind of junk from the local bazaars and made some machines of my own..." he glanced pointedly at all the computers and robots around "But...a place like Yango is doomed. "  
  
Marik looked compassionate. He had lived in Yango for a long time, and knew what it felt like to be blocked in a place where you can't fulfill your dreams... "Go on..." he urged.  
  
"I love space so much...I just hate this boring place. All I ever wanted was to have my own ship and explore the stars...like a Navigator." His eyes got a dreamy look "But...Yango has no ships and no matter how much I try to make one, I always fail..." At this, he got a resolved expression "That's why I absolutely MUST win the tournament. Gaining the spaceship prize is my only chance of having a ship and getting out of this place!"  
  
Yugi went silent and turned to Tea with a wistful smile "Tea is my best friend...we want to escape together... We want to get out of this place together..."  
  
He took Tea's hand in his own two and looked lovingly in her cerulean blue eyes. Serenity was sure that there was more to these two then just friendship, but she dismissed it as a trivial matter.  
  
"But..." Yugi continued and now everyone's attention was fixed on him "No matter how much we want out...no matter how much I love ships...none of us can drive one! No one could teach us how. That's why I need someone to teach me how to drive a ship."  
  
Marik smiled and nodded "I understand." He said and turned to Ryou in a questioning gaze. Ryou caught the implication and turned to Yugi.  
  
"Well, Yugi..." he started with a customary innocent stare "We may have an offer for you."  
  
He glanced at Marik promptly and continued, "We absolutely need to get to Earth with no one –and I mean NO ONE- knowing where we are. If you supply the ship...and we supply the drivers..." he left the statement hanging and checked Yugi and Tea's excited expressions. "then will you give us a drive to Earth? By the time we reach Earth, both of you will have learned how to command a ship...Fair deal, isn't it?"  
  
Yugi looked thoughtful for a moment and gazed at Tea. Her bright aquamarine eyes sparkled reassuringly. She squeezed Yugi' s hand tightly and nodded. Yugi smiled at her and then at Ryou.  
  
"I'll take your deal." He said cheerfully "If you teach us how to drive ships, we'll use our ship to take you to Earth...But first..."  
  
Marik focused and narrowed his eyes "Fist what?"  
  
"First I want Ryou to take his wig off.'  
  
Ryou, Serenity, Rishid and Marik exchanged equally surprised glances while Tea and Yugi giggled. Ryou shrugged and reached for his wig. "It was getting a little too itchy, anyway."  
  
Yugi and Tea were stunned to see four completely different people. Ryou and Serenity were both pale, angelic figures whilst Rika and Lena were blonde and brunette, with creamy white skin. Marik and Rishid were naturally tanned.  
  
"So..." Yugi started saying thoughtfully "Kaiba is after you and you need to lay low."  
  
Marik nodded quietly as he spun a couple of ice-cubes around his glass of juice. "That's right. But I can't tell you why. All I can say is that we're not criminals, murderers, rapers or dangerous in any way."  
  
Tea giggled and Marik turned his attention to her. "Aren't you and Tea a bit pale for Yango residents, anyway?" he asked Yugi lightly.  
  
Yugi nodded kindly "We lived in Saturn when we were small. My grandpa was always fascinated with this place so we came here...He thought he might find ancient ruins buried in the desert sands... Tea's family had come with us from Saturn because her grandfather also researched ancient ruins. Me and Tea have known each other ever since!"  
  
"So did he find anything?" Serenity asked excitedly, while removing some last bits of black paint from Ryou's face.  
  
"No, nothing...they couldn't even research the desert with all the sandstorms." Tea sweetly answered. "When our grandfathers diseased it was too late to return to Saturn, the ships were lost..."  
  
Everyone nodded in understanding. "So that's why you don't like this place at all..." Ryou told Yugi.  
  
The tri-colored haired boy nodded "Yes. I wasn't really fond of coming here when I was five years old...I've been here ever since. My grandpa taught me how to work with machines before he died. Hey Marik?"  
  
"Yes?" Marik asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"We've told you everything about ourselves...but you hardly said anything about yourselves..."  
  
This raised Ryou's attention and he turned warily to Marik. Marik caught his glance and grinned slyly.  
  
"We'll tell you a lot about us when the time comes, Yugi. For now, you should focus on winning Pegasus! That's all you have to worry about..."  
  
Yugi nodded thoughtfully but a sudden gasp interrupted them. Tea stared at her watch intently.  
  
"It's really late, guys! Yugi must train and rest for tomorrow' s match! We must leave him."  
  
Yugi looked as though he was about to start whining but obliged when he saw Tea's glare...  
  
"Oh, all right..." Yugi murmured as he walked to the Visualizer and picked it up. Then he spoke to Tea "Please escort them home, Tea...I'll be training." He turned to the others "It was great meeting you guys!"  
  
"Good luck for tomorrow! We'll be watching through the big screen!" Serenity cheerfully told Yugi.  
  
"Do your best tomorrow! " Marik urged.  
  
"Make us proud!" Ryou said with a grin. Yugi smiled.  
  
"Thanks, everybody...I will."  
  
"I'll be back soon..." Tea told Yugi cheerfully. "I'll buy something to eat, don't worry..." Yugi put the helmet on and dropped on the armchair in a dreamlike state.  
  
Tea motioned for everyone to exit and everyone obliged.  
  
"We should all be fresh for tomorrow." Tea said quietly as she led everyone out of Yugi' s home and in the now dark and deserted alleyways of Virna. "Yugi will fight Peg on the tower roof tomorrow at 12 p.m. We can all watch from the huge screen..." she turned to Rishid. "Should I come to your house tomorrow morning, Mister Rishid? Then we can all watch it together..."  
  
Rishid spoke for the first time that night. "You should ask Master Marik" he simply answered and Tea looked puzzled. She turned to Marik and asked him the same question. Marik nodded in agreement and Tea stayed silent after that.  
  
Marik was glad that the roads had emptied. Their exposed white skin would not attract attention. They covered as much of it as they could, of course, but still...  
  
When they finally reached Rishid' s little hut with the blue fungus outside, Tea winked at them and cheerfully left. Everyone entered the house and Serenity kept noticing that all these pathetic little huts looked much smaller than they actually were.  
  
As they walked inside, Marik couldn't help but notice the way Ryou carried himself lately. He was gaining a fiery leader spirit. Marik liked him so much better this way. No longer the helpless, innocent specimen of a KaibaCorp experiment...now he was more like a grown man. A man to match Marik's own powerful character and need for exploration.  
  
Ryou noticed the handsome boy's insistent gaze on him and turned to blink innocently. Marik slyly smiled back.  
  
"Rishid!" he commanded suddenly and the tall man bowed down to him.  
  
"Yes, Master?"  
  
Marik turned to his friend and servant "Lead everyone to guestrooms. The girls can share a room, I suppose..."  
  
A nod from Serenity verified that.  
  
"That will be all." Marik finished and Rishid mutely stood up. He took the girls and led them to their room. Taichi, Kenji and Ryou would also share a guestroom. Marik said he'd stay in his old bedroom and so did Rishid.  
  
After a brief goodnight and a little conversation, everyone wearily walked to their rooms. It had been a big day and they needed rest. Tomorrow was the big day...the day when their whole destiny would be ordained. Tomorrow was the day. That was everyone's last thought before they fell to deep sleep.  
  
Two catlike vermilion pupils shone in the middle of fiery amber eyes. Long silver strands swept over the mattress. Two soft thumps were heard and then the cracking of a bed.  
  
Then, a tall, lean boy was standing near the door of the guestroom. Normally, Ryou Bakura's eyes were deep mahogany, filled with honesty and kindness...but now, his eyes sparkled with a florid red glow, moving around as though demonic.  
  
The dark spirit of Ryou's golden ring had taken over yet again. Bakura smirked lightly as he looked around the dark room.  
  
Kenji and Taichi were fast asleep on their beds. Ryou's own bed was next to the window, bathed in the soft white starlight that came from the Yango night sky- but of course 'Ryou' wasn't in bed...  
  
Bakura really considered eviscerating Kenji and Taichi right there and then, since these macho types really DID get on his nerves. The mere thought of Taichi' s hot, scarlet blood tumbling on the floor was enough to drive him insane with hunger.  
  
He composed himself, however, and remembered their plan. They needed Kenji and Taichi because they were the ones who could drive spaceships...too bad- the feast would have to wait...  
  
Bakura had taken over of Ryou's body while Ryou's mind was sleeping. Now there would be no one in Bakura's mind to distract him. He had all the time in the world to think.  
  
His lithe body slipped out of the bedroom and into the corridor. He realized that the small huts of this planet were actually larger than they seemed.  
  
The slim corridor was completely dark and Bakura had to squint his eyes in order to make sure he didn't bump on the golden ornaments that hung from the walls.  
  
He noticed distantly that the smell of wood and cinnamon was everywhere. It was great to be able to smell with Ryou's body. Bakura didn't have the chance to feel or smell things when he wasn't in control of Ryou.  
  
He had thought he was free of feelings of remorse and pain...but he was wrong. He had believed that being untouchable and invisible gave him absolute freedom. No one could control him. How ironic...  
  
Suddenly, Bakura had found himself in a great predicament. How could Marik control his mind? Could Marik do that with other people too? Why did it hurt every time he tried not to follow Marik's orders?  
  
Bakura was becoming increasingly frustrated. No one could tell him what to do. No one. Not only did he have to bare the burden of eternal suffering, but he had to follow orders as well? No way!  
  
Although...Marik did seem helpful...he did seem to understand Bakura's problems...Nah...that was just acting. Marik would probably leave too, as long as he got the chance...He was just using the ancient spirit as well, just like the ones who locket him in the ring.  
  
'Marik will leave too...along with Ryou. Then I'll have nobody.' Bakura glared at the darkness.  
  
The spirit in Ryou's body continued down the corridor until he reached a corner. Normally, Bakura would have casually strolled around the corner and continue to walk down the corridor.  
  
However, a soft yellow light was coming from around the corner. Bakura narrowed his eyes. What now? Another ninja trying to kill them?  
  
Bakura was famous for his abilities of stealth. Thus, he glued his body on the wall- extremely carefully so as not to make the ornaments cling- and peeked around the corner.  
  
What he saw was better from what he'd expected.  
  
In the end of the corridor was a half open door. It wasn't metallic like most doors around. This was wooden and was open only a little.  
  
The soft yellow glow that came from the room behind the door made all the golden chains on the walls sparkle romantically. Bakura slid away from the wall and turned entirely to face the wooden door.  
  
No one had noticed that room earlier that day...why was the door wooden, anyway?  
  
Bakura huffed. Just when he wanted some quiet time to think, he had to stumble upon an alluring mystery.  
  
Being the kind of person who couldn't let anything go unexplored, Bakura approached the door with light footsteps. As he walked, a sudden clinging sound was heard on his right.  
  
He winced and slowly turned around. His stupid t-shirt had caught on a chain.  
  
"Damn it!" he thought. 'What does Marik do with all this stuff, anyway? I thought this planet was completely poor! How did he get all this gold?'  
  
With small, composed movements, Bakura managed to disentangle his clothing from the chain. After sighing and cursing a little in his mind, he resumed his previous activities.  
  
He had come so close to the door that he could vaguely see the interior of the room behind it. He approached even more and stuck his eye in the open gap.  
  
Bakura couldn't distinguish much. He noticed that the walls of the room looked rocky and had the color of brick. He could see a big bed, covered with silky dark purple covers. Next to the bed was a small table.  
  
Bakura couldn't really see what was on the table. His curiosity had now peaked, however, and he wasn't about to abandon the mission so fast.  
  
He gingerly touched the wooden doors and started to push ever so slowly. Wooden doors were the worst that could happen to him because they creaked. No matter...that wasn't about to stop the great Bakura.  
  
He pushed slowly and felt the inevitable creak come from the door. He clenched his jaws and a muscle pumped on Ryou's immaculate cheeks.  
  
Bakura narrowed his eyes in concentration. The next attempt was much more fortunate. No sound came from the door whatsoever. He let out a breath he never knew he had been holding and inwardly patted himself on the back.  
  
He had done it. Now he could see much more. On the bed stand were placed two candles that glowed softly and from the cryptic walls of the room were hanging shining torches. The yellow flames spread their lights all around.  
  
Bakura refocused his fiery, excited gaze on the table. Next to the candles was placed something that looked like a small bottle of perfume. Next to it was a little vase of black paint with a brush inside it and something that resembled a long, metallic stick.  
  
Bakura tried to look further into the room but suddenly froze. He watched as a hand with dark skin and long, bony digits stretched upon the bed stand.  
  
The hand wrapped his fingers around the metal stick and lifted it up. Bakura dared to pop his head further into the room.  
  
There, standing next the nightstand, dressed in a long purple tunic was none other than the blonde god, Marik.  
  
Bakura's eyes widened as he watched entranced. Marik's long robes swept the floor as he moved towards the wall. With every little step he made, the golden chains that hung from the front of his tunic clung melodically. Marik didn't notice Bakura at all. He seemed completely devoted to whatever he was doing.  
  
He walked with the iron stick in his hand and slowly –somewhat ceremoniously- approached the closest torch on the wall.  
  
Bakura realized Marik had also picked up the perfume from the nightstand. The robe-clad boy was now looking skeptically at the burning torch.  
  
He took the stick and did something to the flames. Then he took out the bottle of perfume and opened it. His usually lavender eyes were now glowing with a rainbow lilac shade.  
  
Bakura blinked in actual nervousness. Marik's golden jewelry shone brightly along with the chains on his robes.  
  
The blonde boy slowly emptied the bottle on the flame. Drop by drop; he waited until all of it was finished.  
  
Instantly, the lighting changed and Bakura now saw the flame turn blue from yellow. This was getting more 'interesting' by the second. Cyan fire?  
  
The blue flame brought with it a heavy odor. Bakura wanted to sigh in bliss as the whole room and corridor started to smell of rosemary and jasmine.  
  
Marik sighed heavily and started to slowly walk back to the bed. Bakura was tensely watching when the unexpected took place.  
  
Suddenly, Marik stopped dead in his lazy, tired tracks. He raised his long fingers and ran them over the golden chains of his tunic. Bakura couldn't see everything because Marik's back was turned to him.  
  
He just heard a little click and knew that the chain of the robes had been released. Bakura took this as his queue to leave. He didn't want to see a striptease.  
  
He started to slowly retreat from his inquisitive place, but suddenly froze.  
  
Marik's cloak had slid down soundlessly, stopping when it reached the golden chain around his hips. Bakura's mouth went dry with anxiety.  
  
Stretched in front of him was Marik's bare back, bones and muscles outlining the slim form. But that wasn't the problem.  
  
Filled with blank ink, carved deep inside his flesh were marks, scars. They were embossed across his whole back and it was obvious that it wasn't a tattoo. These were scars, made by a knife.  
  
The carvings glowed like black rivers on the boy's back, making the lean tanned surface wavy. The scars were filled with black paint –like Rishid' s. Marik obviously used paint for it to look like a tattoo...  
  
Bakura flinched. Not even HE was accustomed at watching such scars. Who knew that this beautiful boy held such a vulgar thing on his body?  
  
Marik shook his hands lightly, making the muscles on his back shift with each move, and the scars move with them. Bakura didn't really know what the words that were carved on his back meant.  
  
They were very different from Rishid' s scars and they looked like written signals from the Morse code- but not exactly. Bakura could distinguish a few numbers like '4, 5, 8' beneath the carvings, but he couldn't understand anything else.  
  
He was shaken back to reality by Marik's voice. It was more melodic and more enchanting than Bakura had ever heard.  
  
"Come Rishid. Fast..." Marik said. Just then, Bakura heard footsteps and realized Marik wasn't the only occupant of the room. Bakura quickly tried to shift in order not to be seen.  
  
Fortunately, Rishid slowly walked behind Marik. When he stopped and simply stood, it was like everything had frozen. Then, slowly and with trepidation, he raised his hand and revealed he was holding a bottle of some sort.  
  
Bakura narrowed his eyes. What was that? He heard Marik's breathing become loud and raspy.  
  
"Now, Rishid!" Marik suddenly said with a choked howl.  
  
Rishid obviously obliged. He emptied the fluid in the bottle on Marik's back. It was all hidden from Bakura's view but he could hear very well.  
  
He heard Marik's breathing choke and he heard the sound of his knees hit the floor. Rishid slowly retreated and walked a away from Bakura's view, leaving behind him a fallen and panting Marik.  
  
Bakura's bloodthirsty eyes widened at what he saw. The black paint was dripping down Marik's back and the scars were sizzling with acid. The once glowing black carvings were now burning red, oozing with a combination of acid and black paint.  
  
Marik's whole form was shaking, but no words or cries came from his lips, nevertheless. The black dripping paint resembled falling blood and for once, Bakura didn't feel the least bit excited at that. He actually felt something tighten around his chest painfully as he looked at Marik's trembling form.  
  
Just then, Rishid' s gruff voice was heard "I'm sorry, Master...but you know you must protect yourself from infections..."  
  
Bakura saw Marik's head, which was shoved in his hands desperately, nod affirmatively. Just then, Bakura saw the blonde boy reach out a shaking hand towards the nightstand. Rishid rushed to the boy and gave him a glass of water.  
  
Marik nodded gratefully and put the cool essence on his lips. Bakura watched in utter trepidation.  
  
"Rishid..." Marik whispered pathetically "Take the paint...start fixing it."  
  
Rishid obeyed and took the black paint form the nightstand. Bakura realized that he was about to start repainting the cleaned scars.  
  
One last look at Marik's form which was trying to grab on the wall with white knuckles was all Bakura needed.  
  
The demonic albino turned around hoarsely, not caring about the creaking of the wooden doors or the sound of footsteps. He leaned his head on the corridor walls and shut his eyes quickly.  
  
Slowly, pants and tortured gasps echoed around the corridor. Bakura shut his eyes tighter. Shouldn't he be extremely happy at seeing someone get hurt? Shouldn't the pained breathing excite him?  
  
Then why did his chest hurt with pity? Why did it hurt to see the blonde beautiful boy fall to the floor pathetically? Wasn't he the merciless spirit any more?  
  
Bakura reopened his eyes and watched the blue-yellow light flicker from the room. The stealthy silver-haired boy staggered away from the wall and stared stiffly at the half-open door.  
  
'Should I go inside? Should I ask Marik what this is all about? Should I...help?' Bakura grabbed his head in his hands.  
  
"Shit...what's going on?" he whispered. Losing no more time at hearing the tortured boy's pants, he strode down the corridor and quickly got in the Ryou and the others' bedroom.  
  
'Am I turning soft now? What the heck is wrong...?' he thought desperately, his glaring red eyes lost in the dark room 'There is more to Marik...after all, no body knows his past. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can't deny his wishes...Maybe...'  
  
Bakura desperately glared at the sleeping Kenji's form...  
  
'Maybe...Maybe Marik...' just then, another image of the tortured Marik entered his mind 'Damn it, Marik! Why did I have to see that!'  
  
With that last thought, the furious spirit left Ryou's body and retreated in the dark corners of an unknown abyss.  
  
Ryou' s sleeping mind came back in his own body and the white-haired boy fell lifelessly on the ground, curiously not waking up. The rest of the night went by peacefully for the residents of the hut.  
  
It was peaceful for everyone except a restless spirit and a young man in pain.  
  
"C'mon, man! Get up! YO! Get up!"  
  
"H-Huh?"  
  
"Damn...I know he's ancient and all...but did people sleep on the floor in his age?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Yo! Ryou! Wake up man! Why are you on the floor?  
  
Two mahogany slits appeared on the pale boy's face. His eyelids fluttered and his eyes opened to reveal two precious amber jewels.  
  
Ryou curiously felt very stiff. He thought his mattress had been really soft, but now he was sure it was rock hard. He groaned in spite of himself and took a better look around.  
  
He noticed that two forms were towering over his lying form. It was Kenji and Taichi, his roommates. Taichi was finally healed and ready for action. Ryou raised an inquisitive eyebrow.  
  
"Guys, what are you doing here?" he asked, thinking he was lying on his bed.  
  
Kenji smirked. "I think the question is what are YOU doing here?"  
  
Taichi chuckled at Ryou's completely oblivious expression. The silver haired god's eyes narrowed. He decided that leaving the uncomfortable stiff position he was in was imperative at this point.  
  
With a swift, unexpected movement he sat up. The surprise had been great when Ryou finally noticed he wasn't on his soft mattress. He was on the cold cabin floor.  
  
"How on earth did I get here?" Ryou vaguely wondered as he got up and started rubbing dirt off his clothes.  
  
"How the hell should we know? We just got up and found you sleeping on the floor! Is that a custom of the 15th century or something?"  
  
Ryou glanced lightly at the other man. The handsome albino was never the one to get angry at someone's comments, but the morning gruffness was not making him very cooperative.  
  
"Actually, it's 21st century and no, it's not a custom." He patiently and softly answered, the sweetness never leaving his voice.  
  
"Oh, ok...well, whatever, I'll go get breakfast." Taichi dismissively said and started to walk to the door.  
  
"Wait for me!" Ryou heard Kenji shout after his friend. Instantly, the two men had left the room.  
  
This was perfect for Ryou, who wanted some time to talk with his Darkside. Ryou did have a vague idea about how he mysteriously ended up sleeping on the floor. Panic was starting to raise inside him. What if his Yami had done something psychotic and someone saw him? Would they think he's crazy again? And what about Serenity? Would she-  
  
Ryou's eyes widened in anxiety. He absolutely had to talk to his Yami!  
  
/Yami! Get out! We need to talk! What did you do last night?/ Ryou frantically shouted in his mind.  
  
For the first time in many years, Ryou didn't feel the spirit's anger or blood fetish through their connection. Ryou just felt something unexplainable. It wasn't really a feeling...it was just...silence.  
  
Yami Bakura was not answering and no matter how many times Ryou pleaded and shouted for answers, only silence would greet them.  
  
/Yami please answer me! Can you hear me?! Yami!/  
  
Ryou reached in his t-shirt and grabbed his golden ring. He took it out and stared at it. No response, no glow. Nothing.  
  
'Maybe he just doesn't want to come out...' Ryou mused 'But I can't feel the darkness stir inside me. I can't feel his feelings.'  
  
Ryou was about to set all his willpower and ultimately order the spirit to come out. He knew that Bakura could never disobey a direct order coming from his host.  
  
The white-haired angel was about to utter the words when he heard an unexpected shout come from somewhere in the house.  
  
"RYOU! COME ON! BREAKFAST IS SERVED!" Serenity's melodic voice chimed. Ryou sighed dejectedly. His little tête-à-tête with Yami would have to wait.  
  
The boy shoved the ring back in his clothes and proceeded to walk out of the door. He found himself in the familiar slim corridor, which was decorated by ornaments of all sorts.  
  
Ryou hadn't really learned where the kitchen was, so he directed himself down the corridor and around a corner. Just then, he came face to face with a wooden door.  
  
Wait! A WOODEN door? Ryou had learnt that this was rare in the 25th century. He shook his head lightly. It was just a room that he hadn't noticed...nothing serious.  
  
Suddenly, as he observed the delicate door, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He felt unexplainably cold and afraid, all of a sudden.  
  
Ryou froze and stiffened instantly. /Yami?/  
  
But no response came.  
  
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ryou turned around and walked back in the direction he came. He turned around the corner and walked back down the corridor. The whole time and as he observed all the vaguely familiar objects, goose bumps were crawling under his skin.  
  
'What is this feeling?' Ryou thought 'These are my Darkside's feelings...'  
  
He finally reached the final alcove of the corridor. He walked through it and into the living room, where the furniture sat lifeless and quiet.  
  
When Ryou heard voices coming from his right, he presumed that the metallic doors near his right led to the kitchen. He lunged toward the doors eagerly, not wanting to feel alone and peculiarly cold any more.  
  
As he walked rather quickly, he suddenly tripped and lost his balance.  
  
Ryou closed his eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable collision, but it never came. Instead, a feeling of scorching warmth and disgusting cold penetrated his hand.  
  
Ryou's mahogany orbs snapped open and glanced upwards.  
  
Standing there, bathed in all his glory was none other than Marik. He was wearing a blood-red shirt in combination with black pants and army boots. The golden jewelry that sparkled along with the man's blonde hair gave Ryou and eerie feeling.  
  
And there was something about Marik's eyes...something about those eyes made Ryou really uncomfortable. The awkwardly light purple jewels that formed Marik's eyes were smiling down at him, but Ryou was feeling something choking his heart and ripping it violently away from his chest.  
  
'Why am I feeling like this?' Ryou thought frantically 'my friend just caught me from falling! Why am I afraid?'  
  
Ryou kept feeling the burning and yet cold feeling of Marik's flesh holding his hand and preventing him from slipping. Ryou's eyes widened and involuntarily, his heartbeat quickened noticeably.  
  
"Having a bad day?" Marik's deep voice asked. The usually seductive, tropical voice suddenly sounded very much like a tortured howl to Ryou. Tortured howl? Where was this coming from.  
  
"I-I..." Ryou stuttered and instinctively pulled his hand away from Marik's grasp and backed away a few steps.  
  
Marik raise a sly eyebrow and granted him a smile. To Ryou, it seemed like a man was screaming in pain. Each gesture Marik did, each move the exotic boy made, it reminded Ryou of pain.  
  
And he was afraid of it. He could feel the Darkside inside him thump on his heart. These were Bakura's feelings, not Ryou's. Whenever Bakura saw Marik, he saw pain. And it didn't excite him like other times.  
  
Ryou could feel the skin-crawling, sickening feeling that Bakura was transmitting silently.  
  
When the albino boy turned his attention back to the present, he noticed that Marik was still grinning and waiting for an answer of some sort.  
  
"Thanks...for catching me." He said warily.  
  
Marik waved his hand in a dismissive, casual manner. Ryou instantly felt images of Marik's hands form into fists and grip something with white knuckles. He felt screams of agony echo in the distance.  
  
/Yami stop it! Stop!/ Ryou cried desperately, and suddenly, everything went back to place.  
  
Marik was standing right in front of him and he wasn't feeling anything. Ryou sighed gratefully. At least his Darkside had calmed down.  
  
Just then, Marik pointed towards the door. He obviously meant to go for breakfast. Taking the initiative, the blonde, handsome boy turned his back to Ryou and started to walk to the door carelessly.  
  
He didn't notice that behind him, Ryou was frozen. The albino boy was gripping his head with both hands as he watched Marik's back move further and further away.  
  
Marik's back.  
  
All the feelings of anguish that had been removed from inside him had now returned and they were ten times stronger.  
  
Ryou watched Marik's back move lightly and incomprehensible images entered his mind. He wanted to choke, he wanted to scream, he wanted to cry...but nothing came out.  
  
The innocent mahogany eyes flashed cruel red for only a moment. Images of hands turning into fists and gripping a purple fabric tightly came into mind. Images of tanned fingers running over dripping scarlet liquid. Flashes of white fabric becoming totally red.  
  
Pictures of Marik's handsome face twisted in a monstrous scream, his shining bleach-blonde hair dipped in blood and his lavender eyes reduced in a desperate blue. And Ryou was cold...so cold...  
  
And then, Marik turned around.  
  
"Ryou, are you okay?"  
  
Ryou's pained eyes flashed red and then deep brown. It was gone as fast as it came. Ryou removed his head form his hands and avoided Marik's eyes.  
  
"I'm fine. Let's go." Ryou said in a low, pained voice. Marik raised an eyebrow at his friend's peculiar actions, but decided not to question any further. Ryou walked a bit limply beside Marik and into the kitchen.  
  
Marik followed suit and immediately heard everyone's excited voices greet him good morning. A flash of shining green and Marik had exchanged meaningful glances with his faithful Rishid.  
  
Ryou shakily stepped to the table and accepted a seat next to Serena. She always had a soothing affect at these cases.  
  
Marik slowly and ethereally sat on his own chair and engaged in conversation with Taichi immediately.  
  
When they were done eating breakfast, they would have to take care of their disguise. That was the only way they could walk outside and watch Yugi' s Millennium match.  
  
While everyone seemed refreshed and ready for action, Ryou felt extremely worn and far from calm.  
  
'Why did Yami feel like this today?' Ryou thought. He rejoiced at the fact that the sudden fear and anxiety had worn off. Now, Ryou was feeling comfortable around Marik again. Yet, the images of suffering and blood were now stuck in his mind- nothing could change that.  
  
Ryou didn't even know what had put them there in the first place. Could it be that Bakura tortured Marik last night? Not logical. If so, why would Marik treat Ryou in a friendly way that morning. More warnings went out in Ryou's mind.  
  
What if Marik was the dangerous one? What if this was a warning of the things to come? What about it?  
  
Ryou desperately ran his hand through his long hair and pretended to listen to the conversation. He needed a long chat with Yami Bakura, and he hoped -for the sake of his sanity- that he could have it soon.  
  
When the camouflage was finally finished and everyone was wearing the customary white robes, everyone finally settled down and waited for Tea to drop by as she had promised.  
  
Marik was different from the others, since he was wearing a black robe. Ryou was curious about it, but preferred not to question his friend. Marik always knew what he was doing, anyway, and Ryou didn't know that much about this place or time.  
  
The doorbell finally rung and Rishid rushed to answer the door. When it opened, it revealed a blue clad, sapphire-eyed girl, who seemingly had a sweet smile permanently on her face. For the first time that day, Ryou felt Bakura stir in attention inside him. Bakura's feelings of disapproval echoed and Ryou shook his head dismissively. Bakura really hated anything that had to do with sweetness and Tea was just dripping with it.  
  
Marik smiled and stood up to greet their new visitor.  
  
"Good morning, Tea." Marik's deep sensual voice said. Ryou was glad he could finally normally react to Marik's behavior.  
  
"G'morning!" the young girl cheered "I see you're all ready..." she giggled at that and Ryou had to restrain Bakura's urges for punching her "Yugi has already gone to the tower, so I suggest we go watch!"  
  
Everyone nodded and some cheered for Yugi' s luck. Thus began the procedure of getting out of the house and reaching some spot to watch the finals.  
  
As everyone exited the seemingly little hut, they were hit by a wave of nauseating heat. Everyone had the compulsion to run back inside and stay there forever, but they held it back.  
  
Naturally, the overly crowded streets of Yango were severing the heat. Sweaty, smelly people rubbing against each other was no one's preference, but they really had no choice. Tea, Rishid and Marik's knowledge of Virna' s Bronx helped find quicker roots.  
  
Sometimes, when they were walking, Ryou's eyes would fall on Marik's back and a cold shiver would cross through the innocent boy's body. Ryou dismissed it, however. Soon it would be completely gone.  
  
Soon the company of friends was standing in the middle of a humungous crowd that covered thousands of miles around. They all had their faces turned upwards, staring at the wide screen on the tall tower.  
  
No one could see the top of the tower, where Yugi and Peg were actually having the game. Everyone's eyes were transfixed on the screen – even people from the outskirts of Virna were watching intently.  
  
Tea started cheering when the image of Yugi appeared on screen. Some people booed and others cheered.  
  
Everyone in the group started shouting except Marik and Ryou. The tow wise ones were silently observing...and hoping that their only choice would lead them to salvation.  
  
The picture on the screen showed the thin and lithe Yugi walking beside a few tall guards dressed in black tunics.  
  
Yugi was innocently glancing around, observing the environment, which seemed to be a white corridor. Yugi' s big eyes narrowed lightly when the guards led him to a big, gold-rimmed door.  
  
Yugi nodded gratefully and entered. The camera followed him inside and everyone saw the interior of the room. It was a great platform with solid metallic floor. It took everyone a minute to realize that the room had no ceiling and it was just the cloudless sky of Yango. A glass ceiling covered them and protected them from the blazing sun. They could enjoy sunlight but without the heat.  
  
They were on the top of the tower! They were on the top of the skyscraper! People started screaming and cheering for Pegasus, unconsciously believing that if they shouted loud enough, someone would hear from the tower.  
  
In the middle of the great platform Yugi was in, were two single chairs. They had been rooted on the floor and seemed to be extremely comfortable. They had Visualizer helmets protruding from the top and Ryou guessed that these were formal Visualizer consoles or something...  
  
Pegasus was sitting on one of the chairs. When the camera fell on him, everyone took a better look at him.  
  
His hair was silver-gray – not as white as Ryou's- and his eyes were had a hazel shade. Unusual fair skin covered his cheekbones and his mouth was permanently plastered on an ironic grin.  
  
He was wearing a red suit, which looked very advanced for everyone else's attire. Marik was now sure that this person had also come from another planet for business reasons, like Rishid had said. For one thing, he looked nothing like the natives – just like Yugi and Tea!  
  
Tea shifted around uncomfortably. She was quite worried about Yugi. It still bothered her that they hadn't let her accompany him inside the tower, but she knew Yugi would still have no problem. The boy was a computer genius!  
  
As the screen showed Yugi' s form progress towards Pegasus, a loud voice suddenly erupted from the tower.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen" the voice said "Hello, and welcome to the finals of the Virna Virtual Reality Game Tournament. As you can see, finalist Yugi has finally reached the battle arena. Now, Yugi Mutou and Maximillion Pegasus will both sit down on the Visualizers and start the game! "  
  
As if on queue, Yugi shared a meaningful glance with Pegasus.  
  
"I won't lose to you!" the young boy suddenly shouted and his voice echoed all around. Frantic yells and shouts were heard from the crowd, and Tea was cheering desperately.  
  
Peg simply grinned and seemed totally indifferent.  
  
"Come now, Yugi boy...I don't have all day, you know. I have other things to do after I beat you..."  
  
Yugi' s eyes narrowed in innocent determination and Pegasus's grin grew wider  
  
"This tournament has helped me make our new Digimon virtual reality game famous. It's all thanks to you, Yugi boy. I couldn't have done it without you...It's just too bad that you will never take the prize..."  
  
Yugi seemed to seethe at those words, but something stopped him from lunging on Pegasus and pulling his eyes out. Instead, the violet-eyed boy settled on crashing on the other chair next to Peg.  
  
The speaker's voice echoed once again. "Since both finalists are ready, it is time to start the duel." Everyone screamed affirmatively at that " The finalists didn't know which game the finals would be –they must be ready for anything! Since most of the preliminaries have been Digimon games, and we thought the finalists need a real challenge...we decided that the finals will be..."  
  
Everyone held their breath and the two duelists did the same. Curiously, Pegasus didn't seem really worried, which phased everyone a bit.  
  
"It will be...a Sailor Moon game!"  
  
Their jaws dropped. Wasn't that a girl game? What would Yugi and Peg do in a girl's game?  
  
"We will all watch the game in the tower screen, so please, pay attention." The voice said "When the Visualizers close down on our players' heads, we will be able to see what they see. We will be able to watch the game."  
  
An ominous pause intensified the commotion of trepidation.  
  
"And now..." the voice finished "...let the games begin!"  
  
'Good luck, my friend...' Marik and Ryou thought at the same time. They heard the next words come from Yugi and Peg as the helmets slammed down in their skulls.  
  
"MILLENNIUM DUEL!!" both finalists shouted simultaneously and a sparkling light came into the screen.

**Bad or good? PLZ, PLZ REVIEWW!!!**


	8. The Millenium Match

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sailor Moon, Yugioh, or Lord of the Rings. Please don't sue me. No flames allowed!**

**IMPORTANT**

**Okay, I'd like to inform you all that I don't watch Sailor Moon, so there might be some mistakes…Plz bare with me! Secondly, you must know that even if you don't watch Sailor Moon, this plot will be very easy to follow…so don't worry. I recently realized that when I use double /, it doesn't show on …So, when Yami Bakura and Ryou telepathically speak to each other, I'll just use:**

**- Yami Bakura -**

**/ Ryou /**

The crowd was cheering wildly, and the group of friends had long since joined in. The only ones who stayed silent and observant were Ryou and Marik. What was the goal of this game, anyway? Not everything had been explained…

As if on cue, the loud voice erupted from the speakers of the tower once again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our champions are now entering the game!" everyone noticed the glowing screen. "The game is now loading!! Meanwhile, I'll try to explain to you the rules of this game!!"

Marik's attention sparked at that…Finally!

"In contrast to what most people think, the fight between two people in a virtual reality game is not a battle of power!! It is a battle of mind-strength and knowledge! The winner of the Match of the Millennium will be the man who understands machines the best!!"

Ryou's eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"Let me explain to you, Ladies and Gentlemen…This game, is a game of willpower! In the Sailor Moon virtual reality, there are more than 30 different characters. Twenty-eight of these characters will be AI- Artificial Intelligence computer generated characters. The other two characters will be our two finalists…The sole purpose of the players will be to recognize each other inside that mayhem of characters! Whoever recognizes his opponent first, will be considered the man who understands computers the best…After all, Ladies and Gents, if a man understands virtual games, he can surely distinguish them from a human!!"

Ryou and Marik exchanged incredulous glances. No way! It could take hours for the two players to recognize each other in there!! Not to mention it would be extremely difficult for Yugi to do this…

Tea and Serenity seemed to be having the same thoughts as the announcer continued.

"Moreover, I must inform you that the two finalists do not know what their goal is. They do not know that their goal is to recognize each other in there! There is a time limit, however. The time limit of three hours! The first man to recognize his opponent in three hours time, is the winner. If neither of them find each other by then, then the finalists will be considered inappropriate for the title of 'KING OF GAMES!!' Ladies and Gents, the game begins!!"

Serenity turned a panicked glance to Ryou "What if Yugi loses? Ryou!"

Ryou stayed silent and narrowed his eyes in thought. "I believe in Yugi. I believe he can make it." he finally said. Tea turned to him.

"And I believe in Yugi too! Go, Yugi! Find that Peg and come back to us!!!! We believe in you!!"

In the chaos of voices and lost cheers, Tea's voice stood out. 'We believe in you.'

The monotonous glow of the screen suddenly sparked with life and the crowd fell to silence. Marik's lilac stare was pierced on the screen, as though willing to penetrate the virtual world. 'He has to win.' The blonde boy thought. 'He HAS to. It's his destiny to help us…'

In the screen, everyone could see the image of fluffy white clouds on a blue sky. On the bottom of the screen ignited a countdown clock. Now it read 2h: 58min: 23sec…The game had begun.

Suddenly, the voice of the announcer broke the silence "We are now watching from a general camera! We don't know who Yugi and Pegasus are…We're just observing the game sequence from afar!"

Serenity turned to Marik and Ryou in panic. "We don't know who Yugi is?!!! What does this mean?"

Both boys looked distressed as they turned stoic glances at Serenity. The beautiful girl had now covered her mouth with her hand, and her eyes were brimming with tears "Yugi is lost in there!!"

Ryou gently placed a hand under her face and raised her chin up slowly. His kind eyes sparkled at her "Believe in him Serena. Yugi WILL win."

Marik nodded from behind Ryou. "Yes, he will." The blonde boy reassured. 'It's his destiny to help us now.' He added in his thoughts.

Everyone's attention was back on the screen, where the camera had just descended to show a landscape of a green forest and a small shrine. Most people in the audience were fascinated because of this, since they had never seen such things for real. Ryou felt immensely sorry for them.

Back to the screen, in front of the shrine, standing next to a stone gate was a girl. She had long black hair, which cascaded down her back and she was wearing old-fashioned Japanese clothes. A red and white kimono adorned her body, while her ebony black eyes sparkled quizzically.

"HEY!! Get back here!!" she yelled in a ruff voice.

No one understood who she was talking to, until the camera zoomed out. Everyone was greeted with sight of a blonde girl running away from the shrine. The girl had a most peculiar haircut with two ordangos and long ponytails. Her face seemed to be forming a pained expression as she heard the black-haired girl shout.

The blonde one turned around and started sulking. "What is it NOW Rei? Let me go!"

The black haired priestess seemed angered. "Don't you dare use that tone of voice to me meatball-head!! You might be our 'fearless leader' but that doesn't mean you can order us around."

The blonde girl huffed "I bet you think you're better than me, eh?"

Rei snorted "Of course I believe I am more fit to be a leader than you, Usagi. With your wimpy, pushover personality, who wouldn't?"

Suddenly, a girl with short blue hair showed up and spoke in a soothing tone "Now, now, girls…Rei, try to understand …Usagi has problems as well…she's not all powerful, you know."

Rei huffed and sighed "Sure, sure…make up any excuse you want…" then she turned around and walked into the shrine. Her muttering echoed around "Why did it have to be me to get surrounded by all these uncool people?"

Suddenly, the audience covered their ears as wails and cries broke out from Usagi' s shaking form.

"WHY CAN'T ANYBODY UNDERSTAND ME? WHY?"

The blue-haired gentle girl beside Usagi bent down to collect her trembling body. "Forget Rei…She can't accept you yet…Just forget about it, everyone has problems…"

Usagi was still sulking after that unusual outburst and the other girl helped her stand up. They were soon walking down an old-fashioned, 20th century street.

The only thing that kept happening during the next fifteen minutes was Usagi's occasional muttering. The crowd of Yango was getting impatient. This wasn't what they had hoped for…Where was Yugi and Peg? Where were the energy beams and the terrifying battles? All they could see was a girl!!!

Marik seemed thoughtful as he watched the screen. He turned to speak to Ryou. "Keep a careful watch, Ryou…You never know who Yugi and Peg can be!"

Ryou nodded and refocused his attention on the game. Suddenly, something seemed to happen and the blond girl started running again, with the blue-haired one hot on her trail.

Usagi finally stopped at some point and bent down. A boy's form was lying in front of her and he seemed to be unconscious.

"Mamoru!! Oh my God, Mamoru!!!" the blonde girl started shaking the boy's shoulders.

The blue-haired friend helped make Mamoru sit up, and the black haired boy's eyes finally seemed to flutter open.

"MAMORU!" Usagi screamed and jumped on his tired body immediately. "YOU'RE OK!!"

Mamoru was very surprised to find a crazed girl hugging him… and no one could really blame him. His eyes widened as he realized the commotion and tried to pry Usagi's hands off of him.

Then, Mamoru said something very peculiar but very significant at the same time.

"Who are you?" he asked simply, with a sincerely puzzled stare.

Usagi obviously thought he was joking, because she laughed and nudged his sides playfully.

"Oh, come on Mamoru…What's wrong?"

Mamoru shoved her off unexpectedly and shot upward, standing up.

"Why are you calling me 'Mamoru'?" he asked "Where the heck IS everyone?"

Usagi seemed thunderstruck and turned to her friend who looked equally surprised.

"Umm…" Usagi started "I'm calling you Mamoru because that is your name…And as for your other question…um…what are you talking about?"

Mamoru seemed to notice his surroundings for the first time. His eyes narrowed immediately as he took in the old-fashioned environment. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed "It's the game!"

Usagi and her friend were observing his antics and were becoming more confused by the second. Meanwhile, in the audience, Marik, Ryou and company were gawking with wide eyes.

'Could this be Yugi?' they all thought. 'It would only be logical!'

Mamoru turned to Usagi seriously. "I'm sorry…" he finally said "I don't remember a thing…Who am I? What is here? Who are you people?"

Usagi looked thunderstruck and grasped at her friend for support.

"Ami!" Usagi told her friend "Not again! I can't believe Mamoru has amnesia AGAIN!"

Ami started patting Usagi' s back for support while she looked at Mamoru. "You really can't remember us…? You can't remember a thing? " Ami asked him.

Mamoru looked very regretful and sighed. "I'm sorry…I can't remember anything."

Ami nodded and her eyes seemed to fill with tears as she tried to support the now sobbing Usagi.

"Well…" Ami started saying "I don't know how this happened, but I can assure you we are your friends. I'm Ami and this is your girlfriend, Usagi."

Mamoru seemed to pale considerably "M-My girlfriend? But I already have a- "

"Yes!" Ami interrupted "Usagi is your girlfriend and your name is Mamoru…I think it's best if you follow us…Maybe we can help."

Mamoru nodded warily and started to walk behind the girls. Usagi's heart-wrenching sobs were intensifying regularly. Mamoru seemed desperate to stop her.

"Please…" he started "Please don't cry…I don't mean to burden you…" Usagi sighed miserably and tried to restrain her sobs. Soon, her wails were reduced to silent tears.

Mamoru, however, seemed preoccupied. He kept glancing around as they walked and he seemed to be a bit jumpy.

"This is definitely one of the two players…The question is…Is it Yugi or Pegasus?" Marik murmured. He checked the clock on the bottom of the screen and his eyes widened. It had already been thirty minutes. Time was passing and nothing had happened. Mamoru was simply walking with the girls…

Abruptly, things seemed to come to life again, when Mamoru gasped. He pointed at a park, where a lone figure stood solemnly. It looked like a little girl.

"Hey! What's wrong with her?" Mamoru asked. This attracted the other girls' attention and Usagi turned just in time to see her boyfriend run to the park. She motioned for Ami to follow and soon they were all located in the park.

"I hope the poor little girl is okay. She seems miserable." Mamoru said and Ami seemed to agree. Usagi, however, was fuming in jealousy at the attention Mamoru was giving to somebody other than herself.

Back in the audience, Marik was watching intently. Yugi always was kind and helpful –qualities that were both possessed by Mamoru…Thus, Mamoru had to be Yugi…right?

In the game, Mamoru approached the little girl who was sitting on a swing. Her little body was being racked in sobs periodically.

"Hey little girl?" Mamoru started, followed closely by Usagi "Are you okay?"

The girl abruptly stopped crying and hopped on her feet. She turned towards Mamoru and eyed him with big tearful eyes. Everyone noticed she had pink hair pulled up in otangos much like Usagi's. The little girl generally resembled Usagi, actually.

The little girl eyed Mamoru up and down. "Who are you?" the little girl asked.

"My name is Mamoru…This is Ami and Usagi. What's your name?"

The little girl looked distraught for a moment. In the audience, Marik gasped. Could it be that this girl…

The pink-haired little girl was seemingly struggling for an answer when a loud voice interrupted the silence.

"Well, Mamoru…" Usagi's jealous voice boomed "I believe she's fine…now let's go!"

"No, Usagi I-" Mamoru started. But suddenly, Ami said something.

"Chibi-Usa" Ami stated. Mamoru and Usagi turned to her quizzically.

"What was that? Come again?" Mamoru asked.

"Well" Ami started "I just came up with it…Since she looks like Usagi so much, I thought: Why not call her ChibiUsa -which means 'Little Usagi'…? That would be fun, right?"

Usagi huffed "Yeah…thanks a lot. Ami"

Mamoru, on the other hand, seemed satisfied. "All right then…Chibiusa it is." He turned to the little girl who smiled innocently up at him.

"My name is not Chibiusa." She started.

"Oh?" Mamoru asked, interested. "What is it then?"

"It's not Chibiusa." Came the answer and for a moment, the little girl's eyes sparkled with irony. Mamoru shook the feeling off before Usagi interrupted the conversation yet again.

"Whatever, Chibiusa…C' mon Mamoru, let's go!" she said as she tugged on Mamoru's sleeve.

"Umm…" Chibiusa started saying shyly "can I come with you guys…I've lost Mommy and Daddy…"

Ami and Mamoru's eyes softened while Usagi seemed completely aggravated.

"Sure you can…" Ami started "We'll all going to Usagi's home…Mamoru needs to sort some things out."

"Ok!" Chibiusa happily started. The small company started walking again, Chibiusa a few feet behind the teenagers.

The camera focused on the little girl's face, while she murmured something "Just you wait, Yugi …If you are who I think you are…Just you wait…" the little girl said and her lips turned up to form the trademark ironic grin.

In the audience, Serenity had managed a steel grasp on Ryou's hand. "It's him!" she said "I can't believe it! It's Pegasus!!"

Ryou was at a lack for words. At this rate, things would be extra difficult for Yugi/Mamoru. He already seemed to trust Chibiusa/Pegasus, and would not easily recognize him. However, Tea's voice shook Ryou from his trance.

"I thought the announcer said that the contestants didn't know what they were supposed to be doing in the game…But Peg already knows that he has to find Yugi!!!!"

"That son of a-" Taichi started.

"He's cheating!!!!" Lena burst out.

Marik and Ryou stayed silent…hoping, believing…The fact that they had to watch Pegasus bring Yugi down while they themselves were unable to stop it was the most torturous of all the possible outcomes…

A full hour had now passed, and only two hours remained for Yugi to recognize Peg. Mamoru and company had finally reached Usagi's home, and now the audience was admiring the incredible surroundings of a 20th century environment. Ryou felt strangely comforted at seeing a 'normal house' again.

Usagi had given up trying to impress Mamoru by cooking and now Ami was the one preparing lunch.

Meanwhile, the camera was focused in the living room, where Chibiusa, Mamoru and Usagi were discussing.

"So, Chibiusa…" Mamoru started "Tell us what happened? Why were you alone in the park?"

Chibiusa seemed to get increasingly frustrated at the interrogation, seeing as she obviously didn't have any answers…In the audience, Marik wished for Yugi to pick up the clues of Chibiusa's strange behavior.

Seeing Chibiusa' s irritation, Usagi probed further "Yes, Chibiusa…Tell us about yourself. After all, it's only natural we'd like to know more about you…"

Mamoru nodded and Chibiusa smiled suddenly. "I'm really sorry…But I'm a bit tired…Could I take a nap first and talk later…?"

Mamoru smiled, much to Marik's chagrin. "Of course! Suit yourself." In a flash, Chibiusa had rushed out of the room and Usagi snorted.

"Forget about her Mamoru, she's just trying to avoid your questions…"Usagi said and at that moment, Marik really thought she was meant to help Yugi out or something. If only he could pick up the clues.

"Well, Mamoru…now it's only you…and me…" Usagi was saying as she leaned dangerously close to Mamoru, who backed away on the couch.

"Um, Y-you know U-Usagi I can't really…um…I mean w-we can't…"

Usagi smiled seductively and jumped Mamoru literally. Tea was blowing a fuse in the audience, as she watched the blonde-haired Usagi try to grope Yugi/Mamoru.

"She'll pay for this!!" Tea shouted indignantly. Back in the screen, Mamoru suddenly stood up thus making Usagi end up lying on the floor.

"Um…I gotta go talk to Ami!!!" Mamoru said and ran into the kitchen. Usagi was left to sulk alone on the couch.

Meanwhile, the camera changed locations. Now we were watching the interior of the kitchen. Mamoru approached Ami and observed her cooking habits. The girl turned to him and smiled amiably.

"What's the matter Mamoru? You look as though you've never seen someone cook before…"

He smiled "Actually, I haven't. Nobody uses his hands to cook where I come from…"

Ami sighed miserably "Mamoru…I wanted to talk to you about that…Are you sure you're all right? Have you really lost your memory? Don't you remember anything? What DO you remember?"

Mamoru smiled "Actually, I think I should search for someone…I should search for someone who came here with me…Then we'll probably end up fighting. Does that make any sense to you?"

Ami smiled "Nope. But keep going…What else did you dream of? Did you have a name at that daydream of yours?"

Mamoru snorted. "Sure I did…My name was-"

"HEY MAMORU!!!" Usagi's voice boomed "Com' here I have to show you something!!!"

Mamoru turned to Ami and rolled his eyes. "I have to go." He told her and walked towards the door.

"Tell me some other time, then!" Ami urged as she turned back to her cooking.

Mamoru nodded distractedly as he exited the kitchen. Unfortunately for him, he came face to face with a peculiar drawing. It turns out Usagi had been drawing scenes from their lives all this time, hoping to remind him of something.

"Look at this picture, Mamoru! Look!" she urged as she shoved a picture of a wedding in his face. "Look! That's you and me in our past lives! I used to be the Princess of the Moon –Serenity- and you used to be the Prince of Earth –Endymion- and…"

"Usagi-"

"and we fell in love and…"

"Usagi!"

"And then I became Sailor Moon and you became…"

"USAGI!!!" he finally shouted. Usagi bit her tongue and stopped talking.

"Listen to me, Usagi…I'm sorry but this isn't helping. Listen: I know for a fact that I will remember everything once…"

"Once?"

"I will remember everything once I find a man named Pegasus! Do you know this man?"

Usagi looked completely confused "Mamoru what are you talking about? Of course I don't know such a man! I would surely tell you if I did, because I'd give anything for you to have your memory back!"

Mamoru sighed dejectedly "I'm sorry…I just need to find this man and defeat him…"

"Defeat him? You mean by transforming into the warrior with roses, Tuxedo Mask?" Usagi hopefully asked. Mamoru seemed dumbfounded.

"Umm…No Usagi…I don't know what you're talking about. I only know that I must find Pegasus and defeat him in some way."

In the audience, Marik was panicking. What if Chibiusa/Pegasus heard this? Was Yugi crazy? What is someone understood? Now, there was only one and a half hours left!!

In the game, a voice interrupted Mamoru's musings. To Marik's horror, it was Chibiusa.

"Really, Mamoru? You need to find Pegasus?"

Mamoru turned to Chibiusa hopefully. "Yes! Do you know him?"

Chibiusa had a strange Pegasus-like smile plastered on her face. "I think I met him earlier today… He took me to the park…Why do you want to see him anyway?"

At this moment, Marik was sure Yugi' s cover would be blown. Chibiusa would officially state that Mamoru was Yugi, and then what? They would all be lost to the mercy of Kaiba!!!

At that moment, the moment of truth, the Ami girl came in the living room to save the day.

"Our muffins are ready!" she exclaimed and Usagi cheered. Chibiusa's cat-like gaze smiled quizzically at Mamoru, who also picked up a muffin.

Ami sat on the couch and smiled. "Daydreaming again, Mamoru? What is it this time? People turning into tigers?"

Mamoru chuckled good-naturedly and turned his attention back to Chibiusa.

"Listen," he told the girl "I need to find Pegasus and fight with him in a battle of some sort! I have to beat him in a battle so…"

"Really?" Chibiusa asked dreamily, with what Marik purely recognized as ironic mocking eyes. "What kind of battle? I thought Usagi said you couldn't remember anything."

'Oh shit.' Marik thought 'This is it! This is the end!' Curiously, Mamoru/Yugi himself seemed oblivious and unperturbed.

"Actually" Mamoru started kindly "It's true that I can't remember a thing of Mamoru's life...But that's because I'm not Mamoru. If I told you that I'm a host who's temporarily taken over your boyfriend's body, what would you say, Usagi?"

Usagi was surprised at being asked to speak. "Umm…" she started "With all the darkness lurking in the Dark Kingdom and with everything I have faced as Sailor Moon…I'd say I believe you."

Mamoru smiled "Thanks! This is just temporary. I only need to defeat Pegasus and then your boyfriend can come back to you!" he told her.

Marik was desperate. Pegasus/Chibiusa had probably recognized Yugi by now! This was the end! They would never get that prize!!

As predicted, Chibiusa bucked up in her seat.

"So you're searching for Pegasus in order to defeat him!! I knew it! You're the one!!!"

Mamoru eyed her in a confused manner "What one?"

Marik just wanted to close his eyes and scream.

Chibiusa smiled ironically. "You're Yugi!!!!"

Everyone in the crowd gasped at this. Was it the end? Pegasus had successfully recognized Yugi! It was over!

The audience watched intently. Was it the end? They waited…and waited…

But nothing happened. All they could see was Mamoru's thunderstruck face.

"Where? Where did you hear that name, Chibiusa?" Mamoru croaked out. Marik was transfixed, his whole tanned, lithe body was struggling with intensity. Wasn't this the end? There were only 55 minutes left!! Pegasus had recognized Yugi!

Chibiusa seemed to chuckle evilly. "Haha! I know it because I AM Pegasus, Yugi! Now you have lost the game! All I had to do was recognize you amongst the characters of the virtual reality! Whoever found his opponent first wins!!"

Mamoru looked confused. "Wha-What are you talking about? Is this for real? Have I lost?"

Suddenly, a light soothing voice was heard above all. It was Ami. "Mamoru…So there is a spirit living inside of you…What is your true name? Is it really Yugi? What is it?"

Mamoru was frozen on the spot.

"What is your true name, spirit that lies inside Mamoru?" Ami asked again. Usagi was obviously too confused to realize what was going on.

Mamoru shook his head to clear his thoughts "If...If I've already lost the game…then what am I doing here?"

Usagi slowly placed an arm on Mamoru's shoulder.

"Darling…Forgive me for saying this but…are you feeling all right? Maybe this is just a phase you're going through…"

"I'm not crazy!!" Mamoru shouted as he darted up. "This is a virtual game and I need to find my opponent, Pegasus! I have no idea what you people want, but leave me alone!!"

Marik was staring, aghast. What was going on? Wasn't Yugi supposed to have lost? Hadn't Pegasus successfully recognized him? What was going on here?

Back in the game, Mamoru shut the door to Usagi's apartment and started running away. Immediately, the door opened and Usagi ran after him, followed closely by Ami. Chibiusa was just standing in the doorway and grinning with that stereotyped ironic smirk. After a while, she too started runninf after the three teens as well.

"Mamoru!! Mamoru stop! Wait!" Usagi shouted. After a long time of running, Mamoru finally stopped.

Marik frantically looked at the clock and noticed that they only had fifteen minutes left. Fifteen minutes, to decide their fate…

In the screen Mamoru turned around. "I can't give up." He said "I need that prize…so I can't give up…I'll never give up."

"Give up now, Yugi! Give up now…you have no choice. Admit your defeat." Chibiusa said.

"Stop it, Chibiusa! Just stop it!" Usagi urged, followed by Ami.

"My name is not 'Chibi-Usa'! My name is Pegasus."

"Then why don't you fight me? What is your first name?" Mamoru asked the little girl, but was once again interrupted, this time by Ami.

"You never did tell us your story Mamoru…Tell us everything and we might be able to help you! Tell us who you are and where you came from."

Suddenly, Mamoru's eyes snapped in attention. He looked at Ami…and grinned lightly.

"It's okay…I don't need your help any more…" he aimed a threatening finger at Chibiusa "Pegasus!" he started "I know who you are…"

Chibiusa just smirked ironically at Mamoru's wise face.

"Pegasus! You are…" he turned his finger at the innocent, kind blue-haired girl. "Ami."

Marik froze and stopped breathing. Tea choked on her saliva. Ryou inhaled sharply. The crowd watched, transfixed, as the countdown clock stopped. "00h: 10min: 25sec" it read.

Everyone slowly turned back at the screen.

"It took me a while to realize…" Mamoru said as he turned to Ami. "But all this time, you've been asking about my real name…Why would you be so anxious to find out if you weren't really…Pegasus!"

Then, came the simplest phrase the audience had ever heard…So simple…yet so promising.

"I win." Mamoru said.

Suddenly the screen blasted in a multi-colored glow. The voice of the announcer broke out in the tower speakers.

"And the winner of Virna Virtual Reality Game Tournament iiiis…Mutou Yugi!!!"

Unbelievable cheers broke out from the crowd as teams of girls and boys screamed for Yugi…Marik's group was one of them. Ryou, Serenity and Marik, were frozen, however. How did this happen? How? Why? Pegasus had obviously recognized Yugi all along? How did Yugi win?

That question was written all over Yugi' s face when the boy woke up on his Visualizer chair. The camera zoomed into his puzzled face, and then to Pegasus's own broken expression.

"How?" was all Yugi asked, and his voice echoed around Virna.

Pegasus looked reluctant to answer. "The first person who would recognize his opponent in the game would win."

"But you recognized me first, right?"

"Wrong, Yugi-boy…I had to make you tell me your full name…That was the only way to make sure it was truly you…Mamoru might have been like Chibiusa…A fake version of Yugi. Only the true Yugi would know his full name…Did you notice that when you asked Chibiusa Pegasus's full name…she couldn't answer?"

"How come you knew all this and I didn't, Peg?" Yugi' s accusing glare reprimanded the loser. Many cheers and protests were heard from the crowd, as Pegasus looked like a mouse in a trap.

" Unbelievable! Yugi-boy…"

"You cheated!! You knew everything whilst I didn't! Not only did I beat you, Pegasus, but I beat you in your own game!! How sad!"

Marik grinned from the crowd as Yugi stood up from his chair. The camera followed the leather-clad boy as he excited the platform where the fallen Pegasus was standing. The camera showed Yugi enter the tower elevator and in less than a minute, he was on the floor level!

Serenity fell in Ryou's arms as a demonstration of glee, and Tea hopped on the balls of her feet in order to see Yugi standing in front of the tower.

Marik could distinguish Yugi's thin form standing in front of the tower entrance. A man in black robes approached him. When the man spoke, it echoed all around and Marik realized he was the announcer.

The man stood in front of Yugi.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…Our GAME KING, Yugi Mutou!!!"

The man took Yugi's right hand and lifted it in the air as a victory gesture. Right then, a guard handed the man a sparkling golden Visualizer helmet.

"King of Games" the man said "Take your crown."

And so Yugi placed the golden Visualizer on his head, and cheers and screams shook the very ground of the planet as his smiling face was imprinted forever in the peoples' hearts.

"Your spaceship prize awaits you at the top of the tower, Yugi Mutou. You can come and use it any time you wish…"

Yugi nodded, his eyes sparkling with the happiness of a man who has achieved a life-time's dream. Tears were brimming on Tea's eyes as she cheered for him and Yugi' s own gem-like eyes were beginning to water.

"Go now, Game King!" the announcer said "Gospeed!"

Yugi nodded and started descending the stairs of the entrance…Fans were trying to touch and fondle him, but guards kept restraining them. Yugi took off his 'crown' and proceeded to walk calmly down the streets, the crowd dispersing at the very sight of him. This was the person who understood the nature of machines better than anyone.

It took a moment for Ryou to realize that they would never get to talk to him this way. It was impossible to meet him in this crowd…They needed a secret meeting…

"Tea!" Ryou told the exultant girl "Call Yugi's cell phone! Tell him to meet us in Marik's place."

"He doesn't know where that is!!" Tea shouted in order to be heard over the cheers and shouts.

"Give him directions, then!!" Marik shouted as he tugged on Ryou's arm. The small group of friends started to walk back home while the Game King's phone started to ring suddenly.

A hologram of Tea greeted Yugi. It took only a moment for Tea to inform her friend of their plans…Yugi smiled. For once in his life…everything was going great.

* * *

'I knew you'd make it Yugi, I just knew it!" the ecstatic cobalt-eyed girl exclaimed. She jumped in the Game King's arms the moment he entered the door. "It's because you believed in me, Tea." Yugi told her, his eyes sparkling with childish happiness.

"Yugi's right…our faith brought him strength. " Ryou commented, his own face twisted in a gleeful grin. Beside him, Serenity was mirroring his expression with shining amber eyes.

"I guess you were meant to help us, Yugi." Marik murmured lightly 'It is your destiny' he added in his thoughts. His right hand was patting Yugi's shoulder while his left was leaning on the wall.

"Totally! You were great, Yugi! I could have never thought that Peg was actually Ami!? How totally lame!" Rika commented and Lena immediately agreed. The two of them started one of their long, pointless chats.

When Yugi had been 'crowned' as the new King of Games, he had endured an attack of fans. Naturally, he couldn't blatantly go to Marik's house after that. After all, Marik and Ryou were trying to hide from Kaiba, not officially show themselves in public as friends of Yugi Mutou. Since Yugi had decided to take part in this ordeal, he would also be stealthy…

Yugi had let Pegasus's Guards escort him all the way to his home –the not-too-small hut- and he had let some time pass until the crowd around his house dispersed.

Just when the celebration was coming to an end, Yugi had contacted Tea and arranged a meeting. The Game King then silently slipped away from his hut and went to Marik's house. For Yugi, the true celebration was only beginning. He finally had his dream come true: he could now permanently abandon the isolated planet.

Now, Tea and his new friends would be there for him, no matter what. He finally had a true chance in life!

"We had better get going…" Ryou commented as the girls were fondling Yugi and showering him with praises. Marik was the only one to catch the drift.

"You're right…" the blonde boy started, his black cloak shifting with each of his moves "We mustn't stall…we must go to Earth before Kaiba finds us…"

Serenity turned to the two friends and nodded in apprehension, her fragile smile threatening to break "That's right…Remember our pod that got trashed in the desert outskirts? Do you think Kaiba found it?"

Ryou's eyes narrowed in thought and his eyebrows furrowed cutely (AN: he does that a lot in the show) "I don't know if he found it, but I think that now is the best time to leave."

Yugi was already talking animatedly with Kenji and Taichi about the qualities of good spaceships. Marik sighed. Apparently, apart from games and spaceships…there was nothing else going on in Yugi's head.

"Yugi…" Ryou started, his brown wig moving pathetically on his head "We must go. Now."

This seemed to attract Yugi's attention. The leather-clad boy's huge eyes formed a determined gaze and he nodded.

"That's right," Marik continued his friend's thought "As long as we stay here, we're in danger…you never know where Kaiba is or what he's planning…What if he already knows we're here? He'll murder us the day after tomorrow…Oh! And he'll also murder you for helping us!"

Serenity and Tea both sported a horrified expression. Rika and Lena's eyes almost watered in terror, since they remembered the deaths of Doctors Suzuki and Ayano. As for Kenji and Taichi, they just looked blank, as though expecting someone to tell them what to do next –which wasn't far from the truth, actually.

"My spaceship prize is waiting for me in Pegasus's tower…all I have to do is get over there and take off!" Yugi announced to everyone in general.

"All right!" Ryou started "Then get prepared! We're leaving. Make sure to take everything!"

Marik nodded distractedly "Rishid," he murmured just loud enough for his trusty servant to hear "You're coming with us this time…Prepare everything…you know…"

Ryou did hear, however, and he felt a frigid angst hit him the moment he did.

/Yami? What's wrong? /

But no response came. Bakura was as silent and as frozen as a tombstone…the only thing the spirit felt occasionally was a strange sort of anxiety…around Marik.

"Yes master." The sturdy green-eyed servant said with a bow. He swept around with his blue cloak floating behind him and went to take whatever Marik wanted…

Ryou shook the feeling off and proceeded to gaze at Serenity. At least the peculiar heartache that SHE provoked did not revolve around blood and pain. Her' s was more impending…like the silence before a storm. That's the feeling Serenity's quiet and shy attitude gave Ryou – silent heartache.

"Are you all ready? Yugi, Tea?" Serenity asked kindly. Yugi nodded.

"Yup!" he said "I don't really have anything to take with me apart from my toothbrush…"

"And you, Tea?" Serenity asked.

Tea smiled brightly "As long as Yugi's with me, the only other thing I need is my food. I've packed some clothes, anyway." She motioned to a little sack, which was hanging nearby. Serenity smiled and nodded.

Marik then proceeded to 'refresh' everyone's make-up. Even innocent Ryou had to admit Marik's aesthetic skills were not that great…Serenity kept chuckling at Marik's efforts to make Rika and Taichi look remotely tanned…tragic.

Rishid came out with a sack full of supplies. When everyone was ready, the group of ten finally left the house. Marik threw a last look at the living room, which Ryou recognized as a wistful glance…it was understandable, really. Who knew when Marik would be able to see his old home again? Who knew if Kaiba would end up slaughtering them all? What if they could never escape and were always doomed to hide from him?

Ryou didn't even want to think about the possibilities, so he didn't. Instead, he closed his eyes and searched around for Serenity's hand. When he found it, he grasped it tightly and smiled inwardly. At least he still had a friend.

The company of friends strolled down the narrow streets towards the tall tower. It was dusk and the roads had STILL not completely cleared. People were still there from the morning mayhem…

A blue shawl had been draped around Yugi's head in order to conceal his telltale hairstyle, thus no one could possibly recognize him and attract attention.

And so they walked silently, cautiously. Marik and Ryou were in the front, leading the way, whereas Serenity was shyly walking right behind them. Behind everyone, striding the most silently was none other than Rishid, with his ever-watchful eyes pinned protectively on the back of Marik's head.

And so the night came and millions of stars ascended on the sky, while the atmosphere transformed from scorching to icy. The white and black-cloaked figures got closer to the tower with every step…closer to their salvation.

* * *

"Name and identification" the computerized voice demanded.

"Mutou Yugi, age: 18, civilian number: 7856003" the hooded figure answered. The boy's body was covered with a dark blue robe and the fabric also concealed his spiky hair. Next to him stood a parade of men and women dressed like simple Virna citizens.

They had finally reached their destination: the tower. Now the small group of friends was waiting in front of the entrance, exposed to all kinds of suspicious stares. Naturally, Marik was close to shaking in impatience whilst Ryou Bakura seemed unperturbed. Serenity was obviously having her own internal struggle as she glanced warily around.

"Ryou…what if Kaiba is here?" she asked in anxiety, her face mere inches from diving into Ryou's shoulder.

"Just relax…that way he won't recognize us even if he is around…" came the stoic answer.

Serenity nodded distractedly. This, however, didn't stop the goose bumps from climbing on her skin. She shook her head quickly and finally shoved her face in Ryou's arm.

"I'm afraid" she voiced everyone's feelings.

A small tug pulled Ryou's lips into a grin "Don't be."

"But if Kaiba-" Serenity started again but found she couldn't speak since Ryou had placed a hand on her mouth to silence her.

"Shhh…." Ryou's soothing voice mesmerized her "…just don't speak". He drew an arm around her back and held her protectively.

Serenity found herself relaxing in Ryou's words. The peculiar thing was that he hadn't really said anything soothing…it was just the way he had said it. How COULD he always know what to say? Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was technically 500 years old!

"Hush!" Tea reprimanded "Yugi is trying to get us in the tower!!"

Serenity and Ryou nodded while Taichi, Kenji and the girls kept a fragile silence. Marik thought that Lena and Rika would start screaming any moment now.

"Repeat name and identification" the computer commanded.

Yugi sighed and Marik started tapping his foot on the floor. His temper was growing with each passing second. The mere thought of Kaiba lunging out of some dark alley along with a dozen goons was highly distracting.

"Mutou Yugi, age: 18, civilian number: 7856003" Yugi repeated tiredly. These security systems were starting to get on his nerves.

A low beeping sound and a glowing green light from the computer indicated it had finally 'recognized' Yugi.

"Voice check complete. Registered Virna citizen #7856003- Yugi Mutou. Occupation: engineer. State reason for visit." The security system said with its annoying digitalized voice.

"These systems really make me go berserk" Lena angrily whispered to Rika.

"Totally! Remember what we had to go through in KaibaCorp?" Rika answered. A slow shudder shook Lena's body at the mention of KaibaCorp and she decided to keep quiet after that.

"I'm here to take my spaceship." Yugi was saying to the computer and his voice had taken a note of pride at the possessive expression he used for a spaceship. Tea grinned sweetly behind her blue-hooded friend.

The computer took a few minutes to process what it had just been told. Finally, the frosty digital voice cut through the nocturne air.

"Command #7892: Mutou Yugi and possible company are allowed to enter the P-Tower (Pegasus- Tower) in search of the Virtual Tournament Prize. Initializing…" it said. Suddenly, a small click was heard as the entrance doors parted open.

"Assess Granted. Have a nice day." The system finally stated. After that there was only silence and the relieved sighs of the ten friends.

Marik was the first to walk in the tower, followed closely by an over-excited Yugi and a protective Rishid. Tea rushed inside with the others and Serenity and Ryou came inside last of all.

Once the metallic doors had closed behind them, darkness was all they could see. A low cracking noise was heard, and suddenly, green light illuminated all. Serenity had finally decided to use her torch-chip. It gave sufficient lighting to the surroundings and soon everyone realized they were standing in an empty platform.

The friends looked at each other in the dim light and all they could see was masks of fear and anxiety. Everyone's sense of hearing and smelling had intensified greatly, and now ever the smallest breath or gasp echoed around.

Serenity's heartbeat had quickened dramatically and she could now feel the very blood surge through her veins. 'This is not good' she simply thought as she eyed the desolate environment.

Lena and Rika had latched onto each other in desperate search for comfort, whilst Tea was tightly grasping Yugi's hand. Ryou, on the other hand, seemed frozen on the spot…it was as if he would break if he moved… Rishid' s snake-like eyes were skimming around the chamber walls, in search for any lurking signs of danger.

Marik was the first to actually make a move. The ruffling of clothes revealed that the blonde boy had thrown his black cloak on the floor. 'We have to go to the top of the tower, where the spaceship is waiting for us…we need an elevator' he thought distractedly.

"This is creepy" Kenji silently commented.

"Keep your pants on!" Taichi teased. This seemed to lighten the atmosphere a bit, since the girls started giggling and everyone felt a bit comforted in general.

"Yugi!" Marik suddenly spoke "You've been here before! Where is the elevator?"

The ruffling of more clothes was heard as the Game King finally removed his hood. The shawl slipped soundlessly on the floor as the spiky haired boy turned to Marik.

"Follow me!" Yugi said, his ruby-purple eyes glinting in the darkness. Yugi grabbed Tea's arm and tugged on it, indicating for her to follow. He suddenly broke into an unexpected sprint towards the far end of the chamber.

Marik didn't miss a beat and started running beside Yugi instantly, but it took a while for everyone else to realize they had to follow. Rishid was the quickest and most willing of all, since he rushed behind his master like a human torpedo.

After a few moments of running they all reached what looked like a series of silver-metal doors.

"These are the elevators." Yugi stated the obvious and Marik nodded quietly. "Just a sec." Yugi added and turned to one of the sealed doors.

"Storage room." He simply said. Deafening silence ensued and everyone fidgeted silently, waiting for something to happen. Finally, a loud thump startled the group and a few squeaks came from the girls.

The elevator doors parted to reveal a glass chamber, which seemed to have a perfect view on the whole Virna city.

"Umm…" Ryou started a bit shakily "I'd rather not-" he tried to say but was caught off guard when Marik grabbed his arm and shoved him in the elevator with surprising force.

"Aw, come on…you endured hovercrafts! You can't let this silly machine bring you down!!" Marik' s rich voice reassured.

Ryou felt a persistent tug at the back of his head.

-He's right, Brightside, don't be a wimp! -

/Since when did you start talking? I thought you were depressed or something! /

But no answer came whatsoever. Ryou was growing increasingly frustrated with the ancient spirit. He never talked, and if he ever DID talk, it was only to tease him!!

Before Ryou knew it, his friends had entered the elevator and the doors had closed. The white-haired boy with the brown wig was thoroughly shaken, when he had to watch the city lights flicker from underneath the transparent floor.

"The haggard is underground, not on the top of the tower...." Yugi commented in what seemed to be a blank way. He seemed totally unimpressed by the fact that he could see the city beneath his feet.

Ryou was about to comment on that if it wasn't for the sudden feeling of sickness that grasped his stomach. He could feel his insides climb up his throat, as the elevator slid downward in lightning speed.

The brown-eyed youth couldn't breathe. He couldn't even scream. All he could do was watch the city lights flash all around him. Just when he thought the vertigo would kill him and he wished everything would be ok for everyone else, the pressure stopped. Ryou saw his companions fall to the ground next to him, and he felt himself do the same thing.

Everyone seemed disgruntled by these happenings, but they seemed to recover much more quickly than the formerly old man. Even Serenity didn't seem half as frightened as Ryou felt.

"Jeez, can't they afford a better mechanism?" Taichi commented dryly as everyone except a frozen Ryou excited the elevator.

"This is Yango, remember? People here feed on food-scraps…" Yugi answered. Marik nodded wearily. It was at this point that Ryou realized he would have to regain consciousness of his body before he got deserted and locked alone in the 'psychotic contraption from hell'.

He ran outside with spasmodic movements, only to be greeted by a sight of superb beauty. One shock came after another for the young man, as he saw his friends standing in the middle of what looked like a cave. Stone walls and huge boulders settled all around and in the soft spotlight of the cave was placed Yugi's spaceship.

The silver surface of the pod seemed to sparkle lightly from the green torch-light. Long, lean silver apteryxes formed the illusion of wings, while elaborate carvings could be traced all over the silvery metal. Long, delicate 'legs' dug into the ground and kept the ship balanced. In the back of the pod were placed gigantic generators, covered with grease so as not to get rusty. Overall, it was beautiful.

Yugi approached it, aghast. He ran his hand over what little metal he could reach from the legs of the ship. The Game King's huge eyes almost glistened with tears as he felt the dream of a lifetime come true. Finally, he had his ship. He had his freedom.

Ryou recognized the reflection of pure want and passion in Yugi's ruby eyes. What torture this boy had to go through all these years, Ryou didn't know. But it must have been worth this moment. This single moment of fulfillment - this moment of truth.

No one spoke for a long time –not even Lena and Rika- since everyone respected Yugi's desire for silence. Tea had her arm wrapped around Yugi's as they both just stood and admired what the work of their childhoods had paid off.

Marik felt a rough tug on his chest. 'Childhood…' For a millisecond, a shadow of sorrow glazed the tanned boy's eerie eyes. But with an emotionless blink, the expression had left as soon as it had come.

Naturally, even Yugi had to admit that this honorable silence would have to cease, eventually. After all, they were here for a reason.

"This is it, people." The King of Games finally spoke. Everyone took that as a queue to start functioning again. Serenity took Ryou's hand and led him towards the ramp that protruded from the ship. Rishid and Marik slowly followed whilst Taichi, Kenji, Rika and Lena started conversing animatedly while walking.

Wanting to be the first to walk into his well-earned spaceship, Yugi tugged on Tea's hand and ran up the ramp. What he saw next astounded him more than anything. All the magazine pictures, and all the pirate ship-parts he had seen in his life…nothing could be compared to this.

There were halls and platforms…slim corridors and automatic mechanisms. There were cabins, engines, chambers… Shining with surreal power was everything Yugi had ever dreamt of…everything he ever wanted.

The lazy thump of footsteps echoed around as Marik, Ryou, Serenity and Rishid came inside. The walked around and explored their surroundings, while Lena, Rika and the other boys were chatting lightly.

Marik's spirit of exploration was probing him to discover more and more about the brand new ship. Finally, when he had reached the bridge, he started memorizing the intricate corridors and paths that led to the cabins and engine rooms.

At some point, Yugi hurriedly asked Taichi and Kenji to escort him to the bridge. When they had reached the control room, Yugi finally spoke.

"We need to activate it and leave… but I don't know how." Yugi said a bit shyly.

"Fine." Taichi said "This isn't the right time to teach you, though. We'll take off right away!"

Yugi nodded eagerly "I'll tell the others!" he said as he rushed to where the rest of the company was standing. At the mentioning of what was going on, everyone hurried to the bridge, where Taichi and Kenji had already taken the commanders' seats.

"How are we supposed to take off with this thing?" Lena inquired "It's underground!!!"

Marik smirked "If there's one thing I've learned from Kaiba is this: don't judge a book by it's cover. You never know the secrets of this cave!" he said thoughtfully. Lena shivered slightly at the mentioning of the cave's 'secrets'.

"Exactly!" Taichi shouted and then started pressing various buttons and speaking to the machines "Computer, activate main generator."

A loud noise erupted from the engines in the back of the ship, as lights all around the group of friends started flickering.

"Main Generator, activated" the computer voice blankly stated.

"Computer, initiate takeoff process." Taichi ordered as Kenji and himself kept fiddling with some unknown controls.

They all heard the ramp lift away from the cave ground and close into the spaceship. Ryou and Serenity watched in interest as the shaking of the engines seemed to intensify.

"Computer!" came the next command by Kenji "Open escape hatch!"

"Escape hatch, opened." The computer said, as loud bangs and thuds echoed around. Lena and Rika watched, surprised, as the ceiling of the humungous cave seemed to part open, revealing a long tube –wide enough for the spaceship to fit in.

"Initiate countdown!" Taichi ordered heatedly. Yugi watched with a tension like no other, as the very things he craved for occurred in front of his eyes. He absorbed all happenings like a sponge –he was more eager than any other time.

The computer started counting "10…"

Taichi and Kenji's eyes focused in determination, as they fervently pressed more buttons.

"…9"

Kenji took hold of what looked like a stirring wheel whilst Taichi used holograms of the galaxy to set their destination.

"…8"

Marik stood rigidly in front of Rishid with his awkwardly shining eyes narrowed in anticipation.

"…7"

Rishid was stoically observing all and mainly focusing on the former Navigators' movements.

"…6"

Ryou was anticipating the inevitable with his innocent eyes narrowed in musings.

"…5"

Serenity had her arm wrapped around Ryou's hand in a now customary display of comfort.

"…4"

Yugi's eyes widened in anticipation and his hand clasped tighter around Tea's.

"…3"

The cobalt-eyed girl smiled lovingly at the back of Yugi's spiky head.

"…2"

Lena held her breath.

"…1"

Rika shut her eyes.

"…0. IGNITION!" the computer finally said and the group felt the ground shake under them. Yugi realized in eager fascination, that the spaceship legs had folded in the main body and the ship was now lifting from the ground.

The shining new pod lifted ethereally from the ground and floated up the wide tube towards the ground surface.

It ascended faster and faster and Ryou felt his heart skip a beat as he realized they were closing on the end of the tube.

Finally, time seemed to freeze as the space ship shot out of the stone dungeon and into the icy atmosphere. Like a sparkling star, the ship ripped through the air and into the skies, creating a warp of wind and heat as it did.

Soon, all that could be seen from the crowded city of Virna was a bright star…, which kept moving further and further away.

* * *

"I still don't get it." Yugi reiterated, while looking at some weird gauges awkwardly.

"Okay, listen one more time…" Kenji said as he started re-explaining the landing process to Yugi. The spiky- haired boy's eyebrows furrowed in thought. Tea was observing from nearby. Her own teacher, Taichi, was having a bit more trouble teaching her.

Sitting on some other chairs in the bridge were Marik, Ryou and Serenity, who had long since engaged in serious conversation. Rishid was standing stiffly a couple of feet beside them.

"But how can it be he didn't notice us go? This is probably the only spaceship which has left Yango in years!" Serenity commented anxiously.

"True…" Marik stated cryptically, his luxurious voice dripping with confidence "But the radars clearly show that no one is following us. Even if Kaiba noticed the spaceship leave Yango, he would have no reason to come after Yugi, right?"

"Yes…" Ryou filled in with his ever-present thoughtful gaze "Besides, with all the commotion going on in Yango, Kaiba probably got left behind with all the excitement…He couldn't have possibly spotted us with the camouflage and all…"

Marik grinned his sexy, lop-sided grin in reassurance. Serenity was disgruntled to realize she hadn't been seeing a lot of those grins lately.

The hazel-eyed girl glanced around. Everyone was changing- she noticed- and she didn't really know whether she liked it or not. Marik's former playful attitude and suave ways had been replaced with an impending scowl, or a tired gaze. Not that the 'new' Marik was less persuasive or less sexy, but he was more…serious. Marik had always been somewhat mature, but this was going over the borderline. He was slowly transforming from a somewhat carefree, confident boy to a weary, troubled man. Perhaps the shadow of his unknown problems was the reason…No, Serenity had STILL not forgotten about Marik's evasive tactics to her constant questioning…but she would definitely get to the bottom of this. She would definitely get the old Marik back.

As for Ryou…Serenity's heart jolted violently in her chest. What about Ryou? At first, when she met him, he was a helpless and innocent young boy…but now, the pure innocence and harmlessness in his gaze had been replaced by sincerity and prudence. The albino's eyes now permanently carried musings and wisdom from within the depths of time. He seemed…hardened. It was the same as with Marik in a way. Ryou hadn't lost his charms, they had only changed 'orientation'. Ryou was constantly serious now –a thing that Serenity didn't enjoy all that much.

Together Ryou and Marik formed the alpha and the omega of leadership. Ryou had the wisdom and honesty…he was gifted with rigid ethics and angelic presence. He could bring the fiery Marik back to logic when needed. Ryou was the silent and thoughtful, the one to reach conclusions. Marik, on the other hand, was the link Ryou needed to become a real leader. Marik was impatient and vivid. He liked to explore, to move, to hunt…He was the one to take action and he was also the one to give orders. Marik was endowed with unbelievable charm, doubled by the fact that he knew how to use it when needed.

Serenity realized that the leaders of this small expedition had already started to shine. She guessed there would be more changes in Marik and Ryou than they already were, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know about it just yet. Everyone had changed. Even Rika and Lena had grown more serious. Even herself…

Serenity used to be a perfect little actress. She used to be constantly polite and a fake sweet smile was always plastered on her face. But now, after she had confessed to Ryou all the darkness of her past, she felt she didn't have to act any more. Thus was born a more real Serenity than the individual everyone used to know. Her new self seemed more realistic, Serenity realized. She wasn't always smiling and she wasn't always polite either. When she was angry, she showed it, and when she was afraid, she showed it.

She laughed inwardly 'Mother would have been terrified to know what really goes on in this head…' she thought. 'But Ryou…' she paused her thoughts 'He doesn't seem to mind…He probably saw through my real self the moment he saw me…'

A sweet remembrance of the day she met the albino came to her mind. The raw exchange of feelings that occurred between these two people that day was something extraordinary. It was nothing else…just raw feeling. Not attraction, not lust…it was emotion.

"Anyway," Marik said with his rich voice "Kaiba is not after us and that's good to know."

Ryou and Serenity were about to answer, but a voice interrupted their conversation.

"Tell me about it!" Lena's cheery squeal broke out.

A slow, lazy smile fell on Marik's lips. "I see you have finally removed my beautiful camouflage make-up…" he noted.

Rika rolled her eyes "It only took us, like, four hours!"

Lena nodded "Yeah! We were in our cabin, trying to take that pathetic eyeliner off, all this time!!! How can you keep it on without having it smudge, Marik?"

Marik smirked lightly "The lines under my eyes are natural. It's a symbol of our race- the people of Yango…All people in Yango get these lines, eventually…Right Rishid?" Marik asked and turned to the tall man standing a few feet further.

"You're right, Master Marik." He simply said with his eyes turned to the ground. Marik nodded lightly as though approving of his own thoughts.

"That's just a bunch of horse-crap, Marik!" Lena said, giggling.

"Right! Your race? What about your race?" Rika asked.

Ryou's interest sparked towards the conversation. 'Maybe I'll find out more about Marik's past…' he thought eagerly. Suddenly, he felt something tug and squeeze his lungs and he knew that Bakura was feeling angst again. 'But why?' Ryou wondered.

Unfortunately, though, Marik wasn't about to go down so easily. He didn't take the bait and dropped the subject instead.

"Even though you removed my magnificent make-over, I see you haven't taken off the white robes…that could put us all into serious consideration, you know…White robes symbolize lunatic-…"

But Rika and Lena's simultaneous lunging on his chair cut him off. Marik jumped off and ran childishly around the big platform while chased by Rika, earning a few strange glances from various people. Serenity sighed. Maybe she was wrong about Marik's change of attitude, after all. But then again, even when Marik laughed around Rika and the others, Serenity could still trace the slight scowl that touched his features. She sensed that Ryou could sense it too, because the albino never joined in the fun…

Rishid resettled on his standing pose, since the girls attacking Marik had alerted him. Sometimes he could act a little over-protective…

Thus, Serenity had nothing better to do than notice that she was now sitting alone with Ryou. The albino boy had also removed the ridiculous make-up, but like herself and the girls, he had chosen to stay in the white robes.

Serenity noticed his endless thoughtful gaze and followed it. It was settled on the window –the huge window that portrayed all the stars around them. Their course and destination had been set, of course: Earth…one more thing that Serenity didn't need to remember. All her past was there, all her nightmares were there…And her brother? He was there too, right?

Could these thoughts be running thoughts Ryou's mind as well? Did he have something waiting for him back on Earth? Perhaps memories of a lost love? Serenity felt her heart bulge in jealousy at that.

She watched, transfixed, as Ryou's angelic face focused on the window. What was he so desperately thinking about all the time? It was probably about Earth…about the way he was going back to his home…and about his mysterious past.

Serenity was watching the boy's every move, observing the way he functioned in his daily movements. So slowly…so dramatically…

"Hey, Serena…?" Ryou murmured quietly and the girl immediately turned away so as not to be caught staring at him.

He sounded extremely relaxed and comfortable. All other sounds faded out in Serenity's mind and the only thing that she could hear was Ryou's rhythmic breathing and his ethereal voice.

"Y-yes?" she inquired a bit shakily, but Ryou didn't seem to notice.

"I was wondering…do you have music in the 25th century?" he innocently asked.

Serenity was caught totally off guard. What kind of question was that? Was that what he had been thinking about all this time?

"Um…Of course, Ryou. How could we live without music?" she answered. Ryou smiled slowly and somewhat wistfully.

"Back in my time…we used to dance and sing a lot. We loved it…" he answered fondly, old memories obviously flashing in front of his eyes.

Serenity felt her heart sink in the bottom of her body. 'We'? 'We' loved it? So it was true…Ryou was really thinking about someone all this time…someone he had feelings for…

"…Do you dance in this century?" he asked suddenly, startling the girl and shaking her from her depression.

"…um…sure we do. Why to ask?"

Ryou smiled in a very uncharacteristic sly smile. His eyes still sparkled with honesty but overall he did look unnerving.

"…Coz I bet you people don't know how to Tango!" he exclaimed with pure excitement, a feeling Serenity had never seen him display before.

"Tango? What's that? Sounds suspiciously like 'Yango'." Serenity simply noted, drawing a chuckle from Ryou.

"Haha! I would've never thought of it that way, but you're right! So…does this mean I'm right?" he asked somewhat happily "You don't know what Tango is, do you?"

Serenity shook her head in refusal, her curiosity threatening to peak. "What is it?"

Ryou smiled as he stood up slowly and started to reminisce "Well…back in my time, it was a famous dance…My parents were part of the 'high society', so they wanted me to know how to dance a few waltzes or play the piano. Out of all these dances, I always preferred Tango…"

Serenity was extremely interested and eyed Ryou curiously "Really? Why is that?" she asked.

Ryou smiled lazily, a dreamy tone glazing his eyes "It was supposed to be the dance of lovers…" he started saying.

Serenity thought her whole world had crumbled. It was like Ryou had ripped her heart out of her body, turned it into ice and threw it on the wall. (yikes…) It was as though he reassured her suspicions. Ryou had someone he loved in the past. He probably danced Tango with her all the time…That's what he was practically saying…And Serenity had no choice but to sit there and listen to it all, feeling her heart be crushed with every word Ryou's lips uttered.

She struggled to focus on Ryou's next words.

"…Mother always thought it was a waste of time for me to even care about it, but I always thought I'd find someone to dance with…" he reminisced.

His words were falling on deaf ears as the poor girl tried to struggle with the new bits of information added to her knowledge.

"…I remember the way every single rich girl wanted to dance with me after I became an architect…"

'Here it comes!!!' Serenity thought.

"…But I danced with no one." He finished.

Serenity let out a breath she never knew she had been holding. She blinked a bit stupidly and felt her body reassemble from ashes.

"R-Really?" was all she said, and she hardly recognized her own hoarse voice.

Ryou looked at her somewhat pointedly, but Serenity managed to miss it nonetheless.

"Really." He stated rigidly. "I never found the special one…so, anyway…"

Serenity was frozen in place. She was practically immobilized. There was one phrase spinning around her head –weaving a web of disbelief around her brain. 'I never found the special one…'

He didn't? He hadn't? There was no love? No princess of an unspoken past? No heroine for the hero? Was this some kind of sick joke, or had Serenity's whole way of thinking been really based on a misunderstanding???

'I NEVER found the special one…'

Serenity's breath caught in her throat.

'…Never…'

She turned to gaze at the angel beside her, and realized he looked a tad uncomfortable. Maybe this wasn't an easy subject for him after all. Serenity was trying to speak but realized that no sound came out. Just an inaudible squeak. Thus, Ryou continued his little rant.

"…Since I used to be 'the Master of the Dance floor' and all, I was wondering…"

Serenity held her breath. What was he getting at? He'd been beating around the bush all this time? This man was an emotional rollercoaster. He had managed to both break and mend her heart in the last thirty minutes! Now he 'was wondering'?? Serenity felt like pulling her hair out her skull. The tension was driving her crazy.

"Yes?" she asked too impatiently for her own good.

"Um…" Ryou turned back to the window, a gentle pink hue gracing his cheekbones "I was thinking that I have to repay you for that time you taught me all that stuff about a 25th century home, so…"

Serenity felt her knees go numb. Her treacherous eyes widened dangerously.

"…so, in exchange, I thought I'd teach you how to Tango. How about it?" He finished.

That was it. That was the end of Ryou's little trip down memory lane. And to Serenity's confusion, it finished with a most unlikely way…Ryou practically asking her to dance with him.

No! He was asking her to Tango! And he had said that it was supposed to be the dance of lovers!! But then again, he also said he simply wanted to teach her…Surely he didn't feel anything for her…but then, maybe he did?

'Should I ask? Would I dare ask him?' Serenity thought frantically. She opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it and closed it immediately. She eyed Ryou warily, observing his porcelain pale cheeks smudge with red.

And then, a sudden thought came to her head like lightning. She had voiced it before she knew what she was doing.

"But…doesn't that require music? And you know I'm not a good dancer…" she said a tad bashfully. She should be thrilled to dance with Ryou, right? What was the problem then?

Ryou turned to her cheerfully in lightning speed "Forget the music! It's all here in my head! My God, I haven't danced in ages!! I was fifty-six the last time I had a good dance!"

Serenity resisted the urge to bash her head on the wall at hearing this from a handsome twenty-year-old. Ryou was a walking oxymoron. What an 'old young man!'

But then again, it all made sense…It wasn't like Ryou saw her as a lover…he just wanted to dance…logical, right? He just felt the need to do something he liked… it wasn't like he was in love with her! No need to stress…Nope. Definitely not…

Then why was her heart thumping in her chest?

"Um…Ryou…" she started 'I DO want to dance with him, don't I? Then what's my problem? Why am I so afraid?'

Her eyes locked gazes with his. He seemed exultant –and a cheery Ryou was a very uncommon sight, indeed.

"Uh…" she murmured "…I suck at dancing." She finally managed to squeak in a final effort to run away.

"Aw, come on! You haven't even tried it yet! Never draw conclusions about something if you haven't even tried it!!" Ryou used one of his wise quotes.

Serenity was sure by now that everyone in the room could hear her crazy heartbeat. At least her own ears were deafened by it! This must have lingered in her expression, because Ryou seemed disappointed.

"Of course…" he started a bit dejectedly "You never DID tell me if you wanted to dance with me or not…"

Serenity could have died and gone to heaven at that very moment. The unbelievable expression of pain flashing across Ryou's eyes at her possible rejection was just overwhelming. She felt like the greatest compliment had just been offered to her. She could never deny it…

"What are you talking about, Ryou? Of course I'd love to!!" she found her voice saying in an overly excited tone. Where this reaction had come from she didn't know, but all thoughts quickly fled her mind as she noticed the change in Ryou.

His eyes flashed happily and he turned to her with a smile the size of the sun. Her world seemed to sparkle all around him and that unique smile of pure bliss really did make her knees buckle. Luckily, she was sitting down.

Ryou, however, was not, so he did the most uncharacteristic thing imaginable. He lunged towards Serenity and grabbed both her hands. In a moment –and before the poor girl realized what was happening- he had pulled her up and started tugging on her arms.

She couldn't believe that shy and innocent Ryou Bakura hid such forceful excitement inside him! But then again, maybe he didn't, originally. Lots of things had changed this last week, including Ryou's adaptation to his restored youth. Ryou was now probably feeling the adrenaline of a youngster again…

Serenity distractedly realized she was being pulled and led towards the exit of the bridge. Where was he taking her? Ryou was practically running to the door in blind happiness.

"Ryou?" Serenity started with a small smile that Ryou couldn't see "Where are we going?"

Ryou grinned and turned to the girl who was rushing behind him "Somewhere with lots of space! All we need is a spacious room and happy mood!" he shouted with another wise expression. He finally reached the doors and ran outside as they slid open.

Serenity caught a fleeting image of Taichi, Kenji and the other girls eyeing her inquisitively, whilst Marik had a suspicious eyebrow raised. That was all she managed to see before Ryou pulled her outside and into a long corridor.

"Ryou! Slow down!" Serenity chuckled kindly while struggling to follow the albino dressed in white robes.

"Haha! Time is money!!" Ryou yelled to be heard over their loud footsteps. Serenity had never heard him so carefree.

"Would you cut it out with the quotes, already!!?" she yelled back in a playful way.

"I can't!" he shouted "I'm 600 years old, remember?!!"

Serenity huffed "Smartass!!!"

"The ones who curse obviously can't find anything more intelligent to say!" Ryou yelled with a naughty grin, his eyes sparkling brightly.

"Haha…Quit it!" Serenity found it was very hard to laugh while running. Ryou obviously agreed since he stopped moving and waited until they were done chuckling.

They waited a moment so they could catch their breaths and Serenity spoke next.

"So where are we going?" she asked while gasping for breath.

"Um…I think that chamber would be fine!" Ryou said while pointing to a single door. Serenity nodded and followed Ryou as he approached said door.

The metal slid open and Ryou entered the grand hall. It was a very big room, indeed, and Ryou seemed to be pleased with it.

"This will do." He stated and turned to Serenity expectantly.

Serenity suddenly felt her body go numb. 'Oh-oh…' she thought 'This is it…' her heartbeat had quickened again, but this time it wasn't because of physical exhalation…

"So, milady… are you ready for your first Tango lesson?" Ryou asked in a comically overdone serious manner.

'AM I ready?' Serenity wondered 'of course I'm not.' She concluded. She wanted to run, hide, act like she was dead, act like she had never agreed to this…but in the end, all she found herself saying was "Yes please."

Ryou found himself stuck. 'okay…what now?' Suddenly, he couldn't move. 'What do I do?' he frantically thought.

"Um…" he started "First, you have to stand over here…" he reached his barely stable hands towards her and grasped her arm firmly but gently. He pulled her towards him and let her stand in front of him limply.

He didn't know how to react to her slightly intimidated gaze.

"Okay…" he started slowly and swallowed uneasily. "So now I have to hold you like this…"

He raised a slightly trembling palm and placed it on the left side of her waist. It couldn't be considered a touch. It was simply a graze…but it still sent shivers down her spine.

"And…" he swallowed again, his eyes narrowing in effort to concentrate on anything else except on what he was doing "…you must put your arm… "

He took a gentle hold of her left arm and slowly raised it. His eyes never left hers and Serenity felt lost in an ocean of amber. She didn't even realize that he had wrapped her hand around his neck until he stopped holding it.

"…here…" he finished quite quietly as he kept his eyes fixed on her orbs of hazel-green.

The girl gulped uncomfortably as she felt her heart register the exact position she was in. Her mind had ceased all functions while her heart was beating nonstop.

The magic all broke when Ryou looked downwards. Serenity was shaken out of the trance and saw her partner take her right hand in his left.

"The steps are a bit intricate…" he said in a dazed tone, his eyes still fixed on their entwined hands "But just try to follow my lead for now…"

Serenity nodded stiffly. Her eyes flew around and suddenly, the fact that she was alone with the boy of her dreams in a dark, quiet room hit her full-force.

"Um…Ryou…" she started saying but it really came out as a strangled wail. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was staring at her again.

"For now…" he started saying "…all you have to do…"

Serenity felt the boy's hand move on her waist and fought the urge to squirm out of his touch. Slowly, almost tauntingly, his hand encircled her waist totally and pulled her towards him. The way his eyes were permanently glued on hers was very unnerving and Serenity wanted to punch herself for feeling frightened at the situation.

"…is hold tighter." He finished and instantly tightened his hold on her waist thus squeezing her body closer to his. Although Serenity hadn't really understood what he had said, she reflexively pulled her arm tighter around his neck.

Naturally, these antics brought them immensely closer and the girl realized the reason Tango was called 'the dance of lovers'. Her lips had been brought a couple of inches apart from his. And their eyes were still locked on each other…

Ryou seemed to be leaning towards her face unconsciously. They were so close again, and her scent was just intoxicating…How could he stop?

Serenity was following his lead, her eyes sliding closed lazily. They were just so close and holding onto each other with such a grip…

-Seriously, Brightside, couldn't you think of a better excuse?-

Ryou's eyes snapped open and he jerked his head back. Serenity, puzzled by her partner's antics was now wondering whether or not she had done the right thing in leaning towards him.

/Bakura! Get out!/ Ryou frantically ordered.

-Well I'll be damned…He prefers the damsel from his other self! -

/Get out!!/ Ryou shouted inwardly. Unseen to Serenity, the ring glowed brightly in the middle of Ryou's chest. Bakura slid outside his human host and floated around the lovebirds –seen only by the albino.

"That was just so lame! Teach her how to Tango? My GOD!" Bakura guffawed cruelly out loud, but only Ryou could hear it. Serenity was focusing her crestfallen gaze on Ryou's stiff expression and eyes that seemed to be focusing on something in the horizon.

/Go away, Bakura!! Shoo!!/ Ryou sent the mental message to his Darkside. Bakura smirked out loud.

"Sure, whatever! I wouldn't want to watch your drools form a puddle, anyway…" the spirit commented.

Ryou pointedly glared at thin air and Bakura smirked once more. He walked casually towards the wall and through it, leaving the couple alone.

The kind albino shook his head dejectedly. One more lost chance… Just then, he realized Serenity had been looking at him questioningly all this time. He glanced around frantically.

"Umm…." He started "Sorry about that…" he looked at her apologetically and hoped she'd get the message, although there was really no message to get.

Serenity didn't know what she was supposed to do in such a case, so she didn't do anything. She just stood there, confused, desperate and hopeless. Had she done something wrong? Was he mad at her? Why was he spacing out again? But then there was that glazed look…maybe he was thinking of someone else…his long lost love or something! Oh, but he'd told her he never had one! Serenity rejoiced at that thought.

The girl's trail of thought was broken by Ryou's next words. "So, shall we?" he asked, obviously talking about dancing. But Serenity's mind was far from that direction... Why had he pulled away? That was the only thing she could think about. Why?

Ryou realized that throughout the whole 'Bakura' ordeal, their grasp on each other had not loosened one bit. He could still feel her soft skin shift under the white robes and he could still rejoice in her tight grip around his neck.

"Just follow my steps at first, and then I'll start counting…" Ryou commented and Serenity nodded. The magic was lost…vaporized with that simple moment.

And so Ryou took one slow step after another showing her again and again how to initiate the dance. A kind smile was permanently plastered on his face as he showed her how to twirl correctly and how to move in sync with him.

He watched their white robes flow around them as their spun and moved…he could almost imagine himself with a red rose locked between his teeth, dressed in his 20th century tuxedo. He could vision Serenity in a long blood-red dress, sensually taking the rose between her own teeth.

The fantasy was overwhelming and Ryou fought to stay in reality, where Kaiba was still hunting them and Serenity was definitely not in love with him.

Watching the dancing tryouts from afar were none other than the infamous eerie lavender eyes. Occasionally, Marik blinked and grinned at the dancers' antics.

He was leaning on the secluded corner of the room and had been standing there unnoticed for the past hour. He had watched Serenity learn most of the steps and had watched the expressions that crossed Ryou's face when he was challenged to try some of the more sensual dance stances with her. After all, tango seemed to be quite intricate.

"Okay, now repeat number one…." Ryou was saying as he pressed his body against Serenity's and started walking slowly to the imaginary music.

Marik started chuckling as quietly as possible so as not to be heard. It was priceless!!

"Cheesy, huh?" a cold, icy voice inquired from behind Marik. Marik instantly bucked up and twirled around to greet the now usual sight of Bakura's dark spirit.

"Long time no see…" Marik commented lightly, feeling a bit relieved that he'd have the chance to talk to someone that didn't see him as a prodigy of nature for a change. The dark spirit never ceased to have an intimidating effect on the beautiful boy, but Marik had no choice but to accept it in hopes of discovering more about the dark Bakura.

It was always interesting to watch Ryou Bakura's immaculately sweet and innocent face constrict in blind anger and hate in the hands of the dark spirit. Marik smirked at the thought. He pierced Bakura's red eyes with his own. Something did seem different this time, however. The usual sneer had left Bakura's face. Now he looked a bit…anxious?

"I wish it were that way, Mariku…" Bakura commented dryly and Marik was sure he detected a sense of irony in that statement.

"What do you mean? I haven't seen you since you popped in front of Yugi and started questioning him about the necklace!" Marik was a bit angered. He didn't really mind when other people sneered or doubted his words. But, for some reason, it really bothered him when it came from Bakura. It really got on Marik's nerves when Bakura turned everything he said into irony or mysterious puzzles. Bakura was the only person Marik couldn't handle. He just couldn't. None of his charms worked on the dark spirit –it's as if Bakura was immune to Marik's seduction syndrome.

"Well, Marik, I see you everyday –through my Brightside." Bakura hissed in aggravation as he walked inaudibly away from Marik. Marik didn't catch the hidden meaning in those words, however. He couldn't have possibly imagined exactly what Bakura had seen that bothered him so much.

Just then, a squeal came from Serenity's direction as she slipped and fell to the floor. Ryou's body cushioned her fall and Bakura smirked as he saw his albino host protectively wrap his hands around the girl's waist, asking her whether she's all right.

Marik was laughing his head off nearby. It was unbelievable the way these two always managed to end up in each other's arms no matter what…

"It's hilarious…" Marik heard Bakura mutter sarcastically "The excuse my Brightside used to touch that girl was so pathetically cheesy…I mean come on!! Tango???!!"

The exasperated expression on Bakura's face was enough to send Marik into a new fit of laughter "Although I don't know what Tango is…." Marik choked between chuckles "…I guess you're not really fond of it, huh?"

Bakura smirked "I'm not 'fond' of anything except myself. And 'myself' includes Ryou Bakura, who is my current host. But, if I get a new host, like you for example, I'd have a hell of a time…"

Marik tried to sober up and eyed Bakura suspiciously "You mean you can change hosts?" he asked incredulously "I can't imagine you in someone else's body."

Bakura's lips formed a cruel smirk "I own the body of the one who wears the ring. If you had the ring…I'd host your body. Can you imagine that?"

Marik felt a shiver run up his spine. An image of his own handsome face constricted in maniacal laughter entered his mind's eye and he chose to dismiss it. "I thought you liked having Ryou as your host…" Marik commented.

Bakura laughed in a barely saddened way "I do. It's just that I've put the man through so much, that I don't think I deserve him anymore…I'm not worth Ryou… But what do you know? You're just Marik."

Marik felt his body go numb. 'Just Marik'? Now that was something he'd never heard before. Usually people referred to Marik as: THE Marik and not 'just Marik'…The blonde boy took Bakura's words as an offense.

"What do you mean by that? Of course I understand how you feel." Marik started but realized he didn't have the willpower to continue. He wanted to tell Bakura he knew all about the pain and the anger…but how to express oneself in front of spirit?

This is why Marik admired and hated dark Bakura so much. Bakura totally immobilized Marik's sociality techniques.

Bakura turned two blood red orbs towards Marik, the lenses of his demonic eyes flashing fire into the blonde boy's head. Bakura's face twisted into a sadistic leer.

"I don't feel, mortal."

It was simple. It was short. But it was dramatic….and it was terrifying. The expression of pure pain and anger and feeling written over the spirit's face was enough to tear Marik's heart asunder.

It was ironic, how the mean words were spoken with a feeling so passionate and violent, that Marik felt it could destroy anything in its path.

"My mistake…" Marik started, his deep voice becoming rather low and desolate at the presence of Bakura. Maybe it was time to drop the subject, and file the image for later reminiscence. "So what brings you out here?" Marik asked in an attempt to calm the enraged spirit.

Bakura gave the distinguishable smirk "My host kicked me out after I interrupted his little tête-à-tête with that little wench…"

Marik chuckled "Interrupted? What did you do, take over his body?"

Bakura's eyes lit up in sadistic pleasure "Brilliant idea, Mariku! So you are worth something after all…Well, that would've been a popper, but unfortunately…no. I started talking to him when he was about to kiss her…"

Marik smirked and decided to dismiss the offensive comments "Why am I not surprised?"

Bakura's eyes glinted evilly "Perhaps because you and I both know how sappy my Brightside can be…"

Marik chuckled lightly at that "Don't say that…I think he's just an old man. Old people are bound to be romantic and serious."

Bakura sneered "I'm an old man. But I'm still not romantic and cheesy. My interests revolve mainly on mass murder."

Marik sighed dejectedly "I meant that SANE old people are usually not lustful and passionate. They are romantic instead."

Bakura turned around and walked dangerously close to Marik. The tanned boy could feel the spirit's frozen aura float around him. "Care to run that by me again, human?"

Marik was quite intimidated by Bakura's irate glare. This time, however, his mind did manage to function and the gears in his brain informed him that there was nothing Bakura could directly do to harm him.

Thus, with a bold glare that rivaled Bakura's own, Marik took a couple of quick steps forward and walked right through the spirit. It was never a pleasant feeling to experience the icy breeze that was Bakura's body, but Marik really wanted to do that. The tall blonde boy stood with his back to the spirit.

"Buzz off." Marik said calmly, barely managing to hide his strange anxiety.

When the spirit heard these words the first thing that ran through his mind was to inflict pain and suffering on Marik. "I'll show you-" Bakura turned around to glare at Marik, only to be greeted by the blonde boy's back.

Bakura froze.

Marik's back.

Whatever he had meant to say was now long forgotten. The dark spirit's red eyes flashed with liquid pain. Before his eyes, incomprehensible images appeared.

Blonde strands of hair dripped with blood swooped and splattered red drops on stone walls… Purple fabric was torn and tied around a bloody body…Screams of agony echoed in the distance as the sound of a blade scratching metal surfaces was heard,…the sound of sizzling flesh being torn drowned in the distance as screams and screams covered it….And then…red…. Everything was red… red…red…

Red swirled around Bakura's eyes and ended in the familiar bloodshot orbs. The spirit widened his eyes and let out a choked breath. He turned to stare at his transparent hands and realized there was sweat trickling down his palms and face. And for once, he felt cold. For once, Bakura FELT cold.

He turned his face upwards and saw Marik staring straight at him, his awkward eyes widened in what seemed like…worry?

"Bakura? Are you okay? I never thought walking through you could have such an effect…" Marik was saying.

Bakura suddenly realized he had fallen on his knees with his hands clutching his head. He took another look at Marik and gasped. Those eyes…that hair…covered in blood. What was the vision trying to tell him? Why didn't he feel thrilled at the thought of blood? He actually felt…he felt…

Bakura shook his head fervently to forget his confusing thoughts. He jerked upwards violently and ended up standing awkwardly in front of Marik. The mere sight of the blonde boy brought echoes of screams and pain.

Marik eyed the spirit worriedly but expectantly. "Bakura…?"

At the sound of the boy's voice, Bakura took an involuntary step backwards. That voice…it was the voice of the screams…The dark spirit was furious at himself. Why did he actually feel bothered and piteous?

"I'm fine, mortal. Mind your own business." Bakura ordered as he somewhat shakily regained his composure. He couldn't feel the graze of the floor beneath his feet but he could feel the numbness around his ankles. 'What the hell was that? Why again? What the heck is wrong with me?' Bakura frantically thought.

Marik didn't seem convinced by Bakura's words but chose not to snoop further, anyway. He resumed his attention to the dancing Ryou and Serenity. Behind him, Bakura tried to avoid looking at Marik's back at all costs. He settled on observing every inch on the wall that was across him.

'What is that glyph on Marik's back? What is that guy's past?! Why is he hiding that tattoo?' Bakura shook his head wildly 'And why on Earth do I feel so sorry for his pain?! Maybe I should tell him I've seen it…But then again, he might be my enemy…After all, he can control me telepathically. Damn it, I hate being controlled!! I just hate it!! As though the curse of immortality in a ring didn't control me enough, now I have to put up with this !!! I hate it! I just hate it!! Nobody controls Bakura! Nobody!'

Bakura eyed Marik up and down slyly. 'Maybe I'll ask him and get it over with. I won't mention his scar…but I'll make it known that he has some strange power over me…'

Marik was oblivious to the spirit's musings, lost it his own sea of contemplation. 'What happened to Bakura? Why is he acting as though he's afraid all of the sudden…And why does he look so shocked? Damn it! I hate being ignorant!'

"Hey, Marik…" the cruel baritone echoed, and Marik turned to look at the spirit with a questioning gaze.

"You always ask about others' past, but you've hardly ever said anything about yourself. So what about it? I'd like to know if it has anything to do with the fact that it hurts when I try not to do what you tell me."

Marik just stared, aghast. "I-I...it hurts when you…?" he started saying a bit dazedly.

"Yes, it's like there's this pain in the back of my head…So what about it Marik? What's your story?"

Marik's face was a mask of shock. Could it be that this is how Kaiba felt when Marik told him what to do? Why was the same thing happening with Bakura of all people? "I…I don't know…The same thing happens with Kaiba, you know…I really don't know if something is the matter with me or not…"

Marik watched heatedly, as the dark spirit's eyes narrowed ominously "I'm not sure I believe you mortal…It may be you're the greatest enemy of them all…Maybe you just want to use us to fulfill your plans"

Marik sighed "Feel free to believe whatever you want…"

Bakura growled "I don't care about what you say but I do care about the way you order me around…Nobody controls me Mariku! Nobody!" Bakura looked immensely dangerous- a thing not far from the truth- "Nobody has the right to control me! So if you want me to trust you again…tell me about your past." Bakura smirked. He really did want to question Marik about that glyph on his back, but decided that the opportune moment had not come yet.

Bakura's eyes narrowed to slits as he watched Marik's reaction turn from disappointed and guilty to troubled and pained. 'Yes…' the dark spirit thought 'Let's unravel the mystery of your telepathic skills…and that bloody scar on your back! I'll be damned if I don't find out everything there is to know about you, Mariku!'

Marik just kept a weary, pained gaze. "I'd rather not talk about it…not right now."

Bakura was internally cursing "You'd rather risk my trust and support than tell me about it?"

"I can assure you of one thing…" came the reluctant answer "My past has nothing to do with my abilities to force you telepathically…I would use the information to reassure you if it did…"

Bakura nodded slowly and intentionally cruelly, sending goose bumps to Marik's spine. "I'll just pretend to buy that for now, mortal…but I WILL be waiting…"

Bakura started to move towards the dancing forms of Ryou and Serena.

"Oh! And Marik!" the spirit turned a queer glance at the blonde boy "Don't keep bossing me around!"

Marik smirked, savoring his ability to control the only person he couldn't possibly deal with, albeit he knew he shouldn't.

"Really?" Marik inquired "Or what?"

Bakura smirked silently 'Or I'll make sure to double the scars on your body, pretty boy…And I won't need your permission to do it…' he thought. But on the outside, all he did was smile an eerie grin with protruding fangs.

Bakura was lost in mystical mist right after that, but for some reason, that last smile was stuck in Marik's memory as one of the most intimidating leers he had ever been exposed to.

A sudden squeal brought Marik back to reality and he focused his attention on Serenity and Ryou. Their linen robes where now stuck on their sweaty bodies. Marik noticed Ryou's hands had mysteriously slipped on Serenity's hips and the girl's hands were both wrapped around his neck.

The squeal came when Ryou performed the finishing figure. With a fluent movement, he bent down with Serenity in his arms, their faces mere inches from touching. Marik really thought they were finally going to kiss and admit they loved each other when the ship megaphones erupted in noises.

"Way to go, Serenity! Ryou! We have everything recorded since we were watching from the ship cameras all this time!!" Lena shouted as cheers and clapping noises echoed from behind.

"That's right!" Rika shouted, "Come back to the bridge –you surely need a drink after all that exercise!! Oh! And Marik! We can see youuuu!!!!"

Marik's face formed a sly grin "I know that, Rika…That's why I deactivated all recording mechanisms in the spaceship" the blonde boy shouted, trying to ignore Ryou and Serena's thunderstruck faces.

"What?" Rika's voice cried comically "That means we won't have a recording of you talking to yourself??!! NOO!"

"Tough luck." Answered Marik. They had actually seen him talk with Bakura?

Meanwhile, Serenity and Ryou seemed angry and embarrassed at the same time. Angry at being interrupted once again and embarrassed at realizing people had been observing their antics for some time now.

Serenity turned to the far end of the dark room, where Marik had been standing all along. "Marik! You were there all along?!!"

Marik's face constricted in a devious grin "I just couldn't resist watching you bite the dust –literally speaking!!"

"I just fell once!!" Serenity whined with a pout.

"Whatever everyone!!" Tea's voice shouted from the megaphone "Just come back to the bridge!!"

* * *

"So the blue lever is called 'Nitro Power' while the green one is named 'Nitro speed'?" Tea asked wearily. Learning how to drive space ships was much harder than she had initially thought.

"No! It's the other way round!" Taichi answered in exasperation. Wow…he had been trying to get through to his 'student' for the last thirty minutes! That was slow –even for Taichi! (I'm so mean…)

Yugi had long since completed all the 'lessons of the day' and was currently resting on a nearby armchair. He and Kenji were talking about spacecrafts, while Marik and Ryou were listening with interest.

A few feet beside them, Lena, Rika and Serenity were animatedly talking about the Tango dance, while Rishid was sitting on a chair silently.

"Hey guys!" Lena finally shouted "I have an idea! Why don't we play a virtual game?!"

"Yeah!" Rika elaborated "Let's play 'Lord of the Rings'! I'll be Arwen, Marik will be Aragorn, Ryou will be Legolas and so on and so forth…"

Yugi's eyes seemed to sparkle with interest and Marik groaned involuntarily. How could the Game King resist a challenge in a virtual game?

"Nah…" Serenity interrupted "It takes at least nine people to play Lord of the Rings, and I'm sure not everyone here are willing to play…"

"Aw, come on…And I thought of the greatest role for Yugi! He'd be the protagonist Frodo…you know, that little short guy?!" Rika commented while pouting.

"I'm not short!" Yugi protested.

"Sure you aren't!" Lena answered "But it's easy to imagine you that way, right?"

Yugi sighed slowly and at this point, Marik and Ryou really did feel like plucking their hair out in exasperation.

Unexpectedly, Ryou's attention found something worthwhile. It was Yugi's pyramid locket, glinting sweetly in the dim light.

-It's that necklace again. You promised you'd find out about it, Brightside…- Bakura reminded from inside Ryou's head.

/Well, you promised you wouldn't pop outside while Serena was present…right?/

-You're the one who told me to go, you ungrateful little squirt!-

/How dare you? I'm older than you!/

-Not any more, you aren't!! Now find out about that necklace!-

Ryou sighed slowly and turned to Yugi's calm and composed form.

"Hey Yugi…" the handsome albino started saying, his sincere gaze reflecting pure innocence. Yugi turned his spiky head towards the source that called him and met the eyes of Ryou.

"Yes?" the delicate King inquired.

"Can I ask you a question of a more…personal nature?" Ryou asked a bit uncomfortably. He didn't want Yugi to misunderstand his intentions.

Yugi's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "It depends on the question…" he simply stated.

"Well alright…" Ryou started 'Here goes nothing' he thought "Could you please tell me…how you got that necklace?"

Yugi seemed a bit uneasy at the subject. He glanced around in search for Tea's reassuring gaze. When he found it, he nodded to her lightly in mutual agreement and turned back to Ryou. Meanwhile, Marik was observing intensely.

"Well…" Yugi started "If you really must know…" he continued with a slow steady talk "This pyramid locket was a gift from Seto Kaiba himself…He gave it to me when I won another Virtual Game Tournament at the age of thirteen."

Everyone's attention was now solely focused on Yugi. Marik's eyes narrowed in concentration.

"So you've had the thing for five years? And Kaiba gave it to you himself?" Ryou questioned in a composed way, very unlike his sudden outburst the other day when he first saw Yugi.

Yugi nodded distractedly "The golden necklace was supposed to be the top prize for the tournament…I just went there for fun, so…I ended up winning."

"Why would Kaiba give a necklace to the winner of the tournament?" Marik voiced everyone's thoughts.

Yugi seemed uncomfortable. "Well…there used to be a legend about this locket…They said that the spirit of a great fighter rests inside it, but the spirit has no memories…They said that the one who owns the necklace will be gifted with the ultimate fighting spirit…and become a king."

Ryou's eyes went blank all of a sudden, and Marik immediately knew he was having an internal conversation with Bakura. So was it true about the spirit in the pyramid? If so, did this spirit resemble Bakura in any way? And Kaiba…he had to do something with these golden items and the spirits, after all…

"So is it true?" Ryou asked.

"About what?" Yugi distantly inquired.

"About the lost spirit inside the necklace…" Ryou's voice trailed on.

Marik took a very close look at Yugi and didn't see anything unusual whatsoever. There was a periodical glazed gaze on his eyes but that was it…nothing out of the ordinary.

Yugi let out a somewhat natural chuckle, which did, however, have a slightly shrill edge into it "What are you talking about? Are you crazy? That's just a legend…"

Ryou's eyes seemed to narrow in a very uncharacteristic scowl "But you HAVE kept the necklace all these years…There was no other apparent reason for you to keep it, except if you had a relationship with Kaiba, or something!!"

At this, almost everyone laughed –even Yugi. The only ones who didn't chuckle were Ryou himself, Marik and Serenity. Marik looked at Ryou very carefully. His eyes were deep mahogany –not red- and his pale face was innocent and pure…His speaking style, however…it was different.

Serenity had noticed it too, the way Ryou's voice took a sharp edge when he spoke and the way he never dropped an uncomfortable subject. This could only mean one thing…it wasn't Ryou. It was the spirit inside him.

Marik smirked. 'You think you can fool me like this, Bakura?' the blonde boy thought 'Just because you fear I might force or order you to do something, you try to fool me by using Ryou's innocent face…?' Marik felt a small pang in his chest 'So you really don't trust me…do you?'

Marik eyed Ryou warily up and down. The way Bakura could mimic Ryou's way of sitting on a chair, Ryou's voice or Ryou's facial expressions, was just unbelievable. The only thing that Bakura could not disguise…was his own feelings.

Yugi knew Ryou would be expecting an answer on that last statement, although it was sugarcoated enough to sound like a joke. What Yugi couldn't understand was the reason why Ryou so desperately wanted to find out about his locket…it seemed this little group of people was a mayhem of secrets and confusion…Yugi realized he had gotten himself tangled into it a little too late…

"Well…" Yugi started saying, as 'Ryou's' penetrating yet honest gaze eyed him up and down. To Yugi's simultaneous fortune and misfortune, he was interrupted.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" the computers started shouting and alarms went off all around.

Marik caught sight of something glowing under Ryou's white robe and he realized his assumptions had been correct. Bakura was now returning to the ring. 'Keep believing you can fool me, Bakura…Do it if it makes you comfortable…' Marik thought finally as he was forced to stand up by all the chaos around him.

Kenji and Taichi had rushed to the commanders' seats while Ryou, Serenity and Rishid were observing intently. Yugi and Tea ran next to the Captains' seats and tried to help, while Lena and Rika just hopped around the platform frantically.

"We're under attack!!" Kenji yelled above all noises. The red flashlight and the beeping sounds were enough to drive one crazy. "There are about a dozen KaibaCorp fighters after us!!"

Marik's eyes widened. How? Why? This wasn't supposed to happen! Kaiba could use his fighters to fry them alive…It would be illegal, but this was Kaiba…when did he ever care about the law?

"Can't we accelerate to Earth?!" Marik asked urgently.

"NO!" Ryou shouted as he ran up to where Marik was standing "We can't go to Earth and give out our potential hiding place! They'll just follow us there and then what?! We'll have no hideout, no spacecraft and no hope!!"

"Everyone! Battle stations! Battle stations!!" Taichi yelled.

"This is no use…" Marik whispered to himself as he watched everyone run around desperately, trying to find their own place.

"Marik!!" Yugi suddenly screamed over the whole commotion "Maybe we can land on a random planet! We can change our spaceship there!!"

"We have no money, Yugi! And we can't sell this ship to a local store either, since Kaiba will instantly trace us through the galactic network!"

"They locked us on their radar! They'll shoot!!!!!" Taichi yelled frantically.

"Oh my God, we're gonna die!!" was heard Serenity's desperate shriek above all else.

Suddenly, instead of everything blowing up, all they could see was darkness. All the spaceship lights had shut down and the computer systems were dead.

"I can't believe it!" Taichi shouted.

"What?" Ryou inquired immediately.

"The bastard threw an electrical bomb! Now all our circuits are dead! We can't move!!" Taichi answered in the darkness. "Quick! Use a torch-chip!"

Instantly, Serenity and Marik had activated a couple of electrical flares and torch-chips. Now, the green light floated around the frightened faces of the ten friends.

"We're gonna die…" Lena wailed pathetically and hugged her lifetime friend, Rika.

"SHHHH!!" Marik hissed at her. "Quiet!"

Everyone stayed quiet as they were told, the fear and trepidation growing with each fleeting moment. No one moved, no one spoke. The only thing that could be heard was the erratic breathing of each and every person.

Abruptly, a loud bang echoed from the distance, and the ground started to shake. Everyone jumped, startled and the girls started screaming pathetically as the shaking of the floor intensified. More thuds were heard and Yugi could practically sense his beautiful ship become a stash of ruins.

His wonderful spacecraft…the work and dream of a lifetime…trashed. All his years gone to waste, all his efforts gone in vain…with each and every thud, one day of his life was killed in distant memory.

'No' Yugi thought desperately, as the familiar pressure filled his brain. "No…." he whispered inaudibly.

Ryou and Marik turned to watch, aghast, as the locket tied around Yugi's neck started to glow brightly. Yugi shut his eyes forcefully and his hands rolled into fists. The boy's body floated upwards and the glow from his puzzle took the shine of superb white light.

"NO…" Yugi kept murmuring again and again, each time his voice becoming louder and deeper than the one before…

And finally, to the peak of all tension, Yugi's eyes fluttered open to reveal two hardened jewels dyed in funeral purple –not soft ruby. His stern expression formed that of an all-powerful warrior.

He spoke again, but this time his voice sounded nothing like the kind, sweet Yugi. This time, his voice had dived into a deep baritone, enhanced ten times by some unearthly echo.

"IT CANNOT BE!" Yugi screamed.

**To Be Continued**

**A/n: pssssstttt….That last part was so dramatic…(Sigh) oh well, this chapter was HUGE. I'm really tired now, obviously, so I'm going to bed…I've been meaning to make a thank-you list for my reviewers, so please review and let me know that you actually read this!! Thanks a lot!! BYE!!!**


	9. Crush the bug

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugi-ou

.

**DO NOT IGNORE! PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING THE CHAPTER!!**

**Guys, I'm really sorry this chapter had to turn out like this! This chapter is a bit more angsty compared to the others, and Serenity and Ryou don't have big parts. This is mainly about Marik and Bakura...But it IS important to the plot. Ryou/Serenity moments still do exist, however. There will be this chapter focusing on Marik/Bakura and one more. After that, the mood will be lighter and you will get as much Ryou/Serenity action (a.k.a. smut) you like!!**

'No' Yugi thought desperately, as the familiar pressure filled his brain. "No...." he whispered inaudibly.

Ryou and Marik turned to watch, aghast, as the locket tied around Yugi's neck started to glow brilliantly. Yugi shut his eyes forcefully and his hands rolled into fists. The boy's body floated upwards and the glow from his puzzle took the shine of superb white light.

"NO..." Yugi kept murmuring again and again, each time his voice becoming louder and deeper than the one before...

And finally, to the peak of all tension, Yugi's eyes fluttered open to reveal two hardened jewels dyed in funeral purple –not soft ruby. His stern expression formed that of an all-powerful warrior.

He spoke again, but this time his voice sounded nothing like the kind, sweet Yugi. This time, his voice had dived into a deep baritone, enhanced ten times by some unearthly echo.

"IT CANNOT BE!" Yugi screamed.

Marik was nearly deafened by the earth-shaking tone. He saw everyone gasp and turn to Yugi swiftly, obviously surprised by his strange change of behavior. And then, the unbelievable took place...

Before Marik's very eyes spread a thick mist. It covered all of Yugi's body and the only thing that could be distinguished was the glowing pyramid. Marik's lavender eyes turned to glance around frantically, desperately trying to comprehend whether what he was seeing was real or not.

The blonde boy suddenly felt very alone and very helpless. Not only were the others not gawking at Yugi, but they were all talking about the strange noises echoing around the ship instead- thus completely ignoring the spiky-haired youth!!

A very uncanny feeling of deja vu attacked Marik. He had lived this before...he had felt as though he could see something that others couldn't, once more in his life. It had been the first time he saw ...Dark Bakura.

Now, for the second time, Marik was left alone to witness the birth of another 'spirit'...No one else was watching...no one else could see...

But wait! There was someone! Someone was looking at Yugi! Ryou Bakura's gentle amber eyes were focused solely on the Game King's face...and Ryou looked thoroughly shocked.

Marik froze. Could Ryou see it? Could Ryou see the mist and the glowing locket? It would only be logical since Ryou could see Bakura and all...But what about this? Was it another spirit? Was Yugi's legend about the necklace true?

Marik and Ryou's eyes widened as they saw Yugi's altered and hardened face form a determined frown. The glow from the pyramid started to slowly fade away, leaving the mist to dissipate. Marik was sure by now, that everyone except himself and Ryou was oblivious about what was going on.

The blonde boy himself could even smell the humidity of the mist, and so he felt completely incredulous about the possibility that other people couldn't even see it.

Ryou felt his blood run cold. A frosty current hit him full-force. What the heck was that? Another spirit? So he wasn't alone...or was he just imagining things? Were there others like Bakura?

/Darkside! Can you see it? / Ryou frantically shouted.

-Of course I can! You think it is...-

/YES! Oh my God, it looks just like when you come out of the ring! /

-I'm taking over! - Bakura ordered with a tone that clearly stated he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

/Wait! Don't come out yet! If Yugi's spirit were our enemy, then we wouldn't want you to meet him right away, right? / Ryou asked with a logical yet slightly panicked tone.

Bakura seemed to be considering his options –fine. - He finally decided –But I'll be watching...-

Ryou shook his head to break away from the conversation in his mind. He soon realized distractedly that all mist had cleared and Yugi was now standing motionlessly, scowling at the distance.

This new Yugi looked nothing like the 'normal' one, which only enhanced Ryou and Marik's theories of it being a secret spirit like Bakura. Yugi's usually cheerful, carefree face now had a permanent frown on. Not only that, but the spiky haired boy's ruby eyes had sunk into a liquid purple. Yugi's gaze now seemed to carry immense determination and power. The boy even portrayed a sense of authority.

Ryou found himself captivated when the piercing despotic eyes turned to him. Yugi scowled profusely.

"Unforgivable..." Yugi started murmuring at Ryou and at himself at the same time "it is unforgivable!" he repeated while referring to the banging and crushing sounds heard from various corners of the ship.

Yugi suddenly turned to Marik and the blonde beauty felt that the Game King's eyes somehow shot out of their sockets and crushed him against the wall.

"They WILL pay!" Yugi stated simply, and the resolve almost blasted out of his eyes. For some reason, Ryou and Marik both felt that it wasn't just a simple statement.

This new 'Yugi' would make it come true.

The situation, however, was highly unnerving. They were a group of ten, trapped in a ship sunken in darkness and possibly surrounded by hostile creatures that Kaiba had sent.

Something had obviously penetrated the ship and was now moving further inside. That would explain all the noises and thumps...the computer could have sent some kind of warning or verification, but all power was down and that included the computer mainframe.

Those Kaiba bastards had planned things well...first: cause a blackout and make sure the enemy is trapped, weak and helpless. Then: send killers in the enemy's territory and slaughter him alive. That sounded so much like Kaiba.

In general, Kaiba functioned with one main logic: if the fly is stuck on your shoe, crush it completely...but if the fly is buzzing around your head, first make sure to stick it on your shoe and THEN crush it completely. In this case, the fly was the group of friends and Kaiba's way of 'sticking' the fly on his shoe meant making it helpless so he could crush it.

For a moment, everything was quiet. The bangs and crashes suddenly stopped and nobody dared to speak. All that could be heard in the green-lit room was the ragged breathing of the partners.

Marik blinked. What now? Why was Kaiba not attacking? Ryou's eyes darted around each and every corner of the room, trying to locate any kind of movement or danger.

Everyone was just frozen, even Dark Yugi. The Game King's powerful stare was fixed on the chamber door –as though waiting for something.

From behind Ryou, scared hazel eyes flickered with intensity. It was Serenity, whose frantic heartbeat was trying to rip through her body. She was focusing on the back of Ryou's head, trying to feel comforted but failing miserably.

Rika, Lena and Tea had the same expressions on their face, broken only by periodic gasps or whimpers. Serenity's eyes widened at the silence. It was worse than any kind of bangs or crashes. This was the deaf silence before a killer-storm.

Marik's eyes had narrowed down to suspicious slits, eyeing everything around ominously. He was the first to notice Serenity move.

Serenity suddenly felt like the whole world around her was spinning out of control. She tried to grasp on something, she really did, but Ryou seemed to be miles away and she just couldn't raise her hand to reach him. All thoughts abruptly ceased in her brain, as she dropped to the ground. The thud that her body hitting the ground produced broke the ghastly silence, but she just couldn't comprehend that right then.

"SERENITY!" she heard someone shout, but she didn't know whom they were or what they were talking about. Serenity? Was her name really Serenity?

She closed her tired eyes and leaned her head to the side, still feeling as though the darkness was producing million lights and spinning around her. She was dizzy...so dizzy.

Unbeknownst to the faint girl, Ryou was shaking her shoulders, desperately trying to receive some kind of response.

""What's wrong with you? Serena!" he cried, followed closely by Marik. Everyone else ran to the fallen girl, shouting and trying to wake her up. Ryou pathetically assembled the girl's motionless form in his lap and kept shaking her.

"Serena...please...please come back," he whispered slowly, as his innocent eyes filled with sudden tears. He couldn't help losing his only friend. Serena was the only thing he had to keep him going in this new world. He had sworn to protect her! He couldn't afford to lose her! He just couldn't! From the albino's right side, Marik was sporting an anxious expression as well...

Then, as quickly as the first one, the second hit came...

"A-AH!" Taichi yelled unexpectedly, making everyone turn to him and gape wordlessly. The tall boy's whole body was shaking and he felt his heart being literally pulled down. He had no time to realize that it was his body that had fallen to the floor, not his pounding heart.

"Ah! Help! Take it off! Take it off me!" he shouted desperately, as he distantly acknowledged people running up to him, a white-haired one with a sleeping girl in his arms.

"Taichi! What's wrong? Tell us!!" a deep bass ordered and Taichi saw something golden-blonde come into view.

But suddenly, a new hit of nausea assaulted the fallen boy, and all he could see and feel was the world crashing down on him and images breaking his head.

"World...spins..." he managed to choke out, and Marik's eyes widened. "Can't...move..." Taichi continued, and finally let his eyes close and take him to the abyss of the darkness.

Kenji fell to his knees next to his friend and started frantically shaking Taichi 's body. Everyone kept trying and fighting to get through to the unconscious ones, but the effort wasn't paying off.

"I..." Ryou started saying, but soon got a glazed look on his gentle eyes "I don't feel that well..." he murmured, but nothing was heard over the mayhem of shouts and screams.

Ryou felt Serenity become a very heavy cargo in his hands and he was tempted to drop her. If it wasn't for the persistent thought that he had to protect Serenity at all costs, he probably would have.

Ryou saw the lights and faces of people around him spin wildly around, and he blinked his eyes to keep from falling.

"RYOU!" was heard suddenly, as a blonde person ran to him. "Ryou! Shake it off! Not you too!"

Ryou felt his arm being grasped tightly and also acknowledged the fact that someone had taken care of removing Serenity's body from his fading grip.

"RYOU!" the person kept shaking him desperately, consequently making the world spin quicker and harsher around.

"Dizzy..." Ryou whispered lightly and was barely heard by Marik. Suddenly, with a rough tug on Ryou's shirt, the albino boy saw another face come into view.

"Move aside!" the new face seemed to order the blonde. Ryou was still dizzy and desperate, but could recognize the spiky purple things at the top of the new person's head as his hair.

Ryou felt the person cup his cheek with one hand and turn his face to look at him with the other. The albino's eyes couldn't even focus and kept spinning wildly around his sockets.

"Wait!" he heard someone exclaim. This time the voice was girlish "I know what it is! It's toxins!'

"What are you talking about?" Somebody asked loudly, making Ryou's head throb painfully.

"I'm a scientist, I should know!" the girl shot back in an equally loud tone.

"AH!" Ryou shouted and growled at the same time, feeling his knees buckle and his ankles go weak. Only the hands that were supporting him could keep him steady.

Marik was desperate. First Serenity, then Ryou? No. He just couldn't allow it. He watched Yugi tighten his grip on Ryou, as the angelic boy seemed too weak to even stand. Marik turned to Lena again.

"But how could toxins enter this place?' he simply asked, and everyone was quiet, obviously searching for an answer, which finally came from a most unlikely source.

"Wait!" Yugi's powerful voice shouted and Marik was violently shoved out of his thoughts. He decided he didn't really like this spirit within Yugi. He still remembered the way the new Yugi shoved him aside roughly in order to take hold of Ryou. If there was one thing that Marik hated more than being locked and trapped somewhere for a long time, it was people bossing him around. And that was exactly what Dark Yugi was trying to do.

"What?" Marik barked back finally, speaking in a very unusual aggravated tone. Maybe this whole 'losing one's best friends' ordeal, had taken a greater effect on his mind than he thought possible.

"Is there a ventilation shaft in this chamber?" Yugi inquired somewhat rudely, but pointedly.

Marik's eyes widened and for the second time, he felt humiliated at being outsmarted. How couldn't he have thought of that? Of course! The air-vents! The toxins had come through the air!

Suddenly, cold sweat started to trickle from his forehead down his long neck. They were all in imminent danger! Marik turned around to watch everyone carefully, and was disgruntled to notice a small discomfort plastered on everyone's faces.

He soon noticed it himself. The air had become thick and crispy. 'Oh my God!' he thought as he turned to Yugi suddenly. The Game King's expression mirrored Marik's feelings.

"KENJI!" Marik nearly screamed, making the others jump at his sudden outburst. "Quick! Get the masks! They've polluted the air!!"

Kenji's eyes widened immediately and so did everyone's.

"HURRY!" Marik probed Kenji's stumbling form. The boy left Taichi' s side and moved spasmodically to a cupboard under some control panel. It felt like an eternity to everyone, as Kenji opened the cupboard with small, tired movements. He finally took out what looked like a sufficient number of oxygen masks.

Marik was worried that Kenji would collapse before he could hand them the masks. The boy seemed faint enough as it was. Fortunately, Kenji did make it, and when he finally reached the group of friends impatient and desperate faces encircled him. He stretched his hand, which was holding the masks, forward with great effort.

Sighs and gasps of relief were heard from the friends, as they all placed the masks over their noses. That had been a close call, they all thought.

Suddenly, a dead thud echoed around and everyone turned at Yugi's direction. Ryou's body had finally fallen lifelessly on the ground, since he hadn't managed to hold on.

Marik's eyes widened as he ran to his fallen friend. Yugi was standing there ominously, a mask now covering the lower part of his face.

"Cover his face with a mask." Yugi advised hurriedly "He won't wake up immediately, but at least he won't be in anymore danger."

Marik ignored the feeling of resentment that attacked him at hearing Yugi's lordly tone. He turned his attention back to Ryou's figure. The steady heaving of the boy's chest was comforting enough. Marik carefully pulled a mask around the silver-haired boy's face and let him lay down.

The blonde boy sighed somewhat sadly and turned his attention to the others. Health slowly seemed to come to everyone, as they now moved more freely and less tiredly.

Marik shot up from his crouching position and approached the unconscious bodies of Taichi and Serenity. Masks had been given to both of them, and Marik felt distantly relaxed. He took a look at Serenity's frozen porcelain face.

"Serena..." Marik murmured and remembered the unbelievable adventure that had commenced from the moment he had met this girl. He knew that she was still mad at him for not entrusting her with all his dark secrets...but he still considered her as one of the best friends he never had.

The lavender eyes converted to a liquid violet. "You just make sure to wake up, and I promise I'll tell you everything..." Marik murmured to Serenity again, this time more emotionally. From the side, Rishid' s ever-watchful eyes registered this new tone in Marik's voice. Although most people didn't notice what was going on with Marik, Rishid always watched and observed. It was the need of an unspoken past...Rishid felt the need to understand Marik; he felt the need to protect him.

Marik turned to the rest of the group who were talking to each other frantically, everyone trying to sort out the recent happenings. Tea had grasped Yugi's arm helplessly, and curiously, this new Yugi didn't seem to mind at all. Actually, he even eyed Tea with a somewhat possessive glance.

So both 'Yugis' obviously had a crush on Tea...interesting.

Marik shook away the thoughts and quickly turned his gaze on Ryou's sleeping form. Why was he so worried, again? He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Bakura in this case. Was he trapped in Ryou's sleeping body, or was he unconscious too?

But that blessed break from tension was doomed not to last for long. Marik knew that the air poisoning was part of Kaiba's plan to make them all helpless before he could crush them, but he still didn't know what other tricks Kaiba had up his sleeve,

Whatever it was, Marik wasn't prepared to hear this. The previous banging and crushing thuds resumed full-force and this time, they seemed closer to the room than they ever had.

"Yugi! I'm scared!!" Tea whimpered pathetically while hugging Yugi from the back.

"I'll protect you Tea!" Yugi gave the typical manly answer, at which Marik had the unexplainable urge to roll his eyes. This situation, however, called for absolute concentration and everyone had to strain their ears to identify all noises that echoed around.

"They're in the corridor! That was the corridor door!" Kenji whispered harshly, referring to the sound of doors hatching open that had just boomed around them.

"Shit..." Marik started saying. ''Girls, go hide!" he ordered with a final tone.

"What about you?" Rika asked desperately as Lena and Tea pulled at her sleeve in order to make her move.

Marik smirked in a way that blatantly underestimated his predicament. "If we go down..." he left that phrase trail on "...we go down fighting." He finished. Rika didn't seem very comforted with that answer, but she was pulled by the other girls and had no choice but to hide with them.

Yugi sported his trademark determined gaze at Marik's last words while Rishid stayed silent and ominous. Kenji glanced frantically around, obviously seeking some way to escape the fight –but he really had no choice.

The next few minutes were absolutely silent, as though someone had thrown a bomb and everything was playing on slow motion. Nothing moved, and Marik could only focus on his own frantic breathing. He remembered the last time he'd fought. It was those ninjas he fought with Bakura...

Marik's lavender gaze briefly flew to Ryou's sleeping body. 'Bakura...' Marik's eyebrows furrowed 'I wish he were here.' He found himself thinking and was thoroughly surprised. He wanted Bakura to be there and fight? It must have been some unearthly force that motivated him to think like that...But then again, it always felt comforting to do something with Bakura –especially fight the bad guys...it felt good to see that raw, crazed passion that always inhabited Bakura's glare.

This silent trance broke once and for all when a sickening crash came from right outside the door.

"What was that?" Kenji asked a bit shakily and Marik honestly couldn't blame that frantic tone. If only Bakura were there...he wouldn't be half as anxious.

All four men watched the door intently as they expected some sort of bomb to explode and rip the metal surface open. But no such luck. Nothing happened –just silence. Whatever was lurking behind that door was making a terrible effort of trying to keep quiet.

"Look!" Kenji suddenly said as he pointed to the door. Marik heard Yugi's gasp and Rishid' s fast breathing. He turned his own eerie stare at the door and saw something marking a snail-like trail on the metal...a trail that emitted a soft orange glow. Marik understood at once: It was fire...they were trying to burn the door down by using laser, probably.

They all watched, helpless and aghast, as the orange-red trail continued around the door, threatening to bend the poor metal at any moment. The slow, silent torture felt like a nuclear bomb at Marik's ears, and the poor boy didn't really know what to think at this point.

The only things that ran through his head were scenes from his and Bakura's fight with the ninjas. That was all he could remember at this point. He watched a bit numbly, as the laser beam chopped through the door like a burning knife through butter.

The trepidation raised in everyone's chest as the final countdown began. The beam was now drawing to a closed circle and everyone knew this was the end. Soon, their whole futures would be ordained. Soon, their destinies would shine.

The trail continued the unspoken torture, and Marik's intensity was throbbing along with his heart...

Marik was too preoccupied to notice, and so was Yugi, but a secret glow adorned the sleeping white-haired boy's chest. Mythical mist surrounded the unconscious form.

Marik held his breath involuntarily as he saw the laser beam finally draw a circle on the door. It was over. Now the end was near....

Everyone stayed in frigid silence –even the hiding girls- awaiting the explosion.

The silence had been choking them for more than they could bear...

A sickening crash finally boomed around and the boys saw the metal doors get ripped animalistic ally down. Smoke and fire sparks came from the broken metal.

It was so sudden and so loud...No one noticed the bloodshot vampire eyes that fluttered open the moment the crash was heard.

Marik took a battle stance and waited for the smoke to clear and reveal the enemies behind the door...the blonde boy's thumping heartbeat was matched by a somewhat broken feeling of loneliness. 'I wish I could fight beside Bakura...one more time.' He simply thought, as his sparkling lavender eyes lost their charming shine and fell into a melodramatic blue-purple. 'I wish...' he started, but was suddenly interrupted from his musings.

"BRING IT ON!" somebody shouted from the left. Everyone gasped and turned to the newcomer with lightning speed, which only resulted in more gasps and shouts.

"Ryou!" Tea shouted.

"You're awake, man! Thank God!" Kenji yelled.

Everyone cheered and the possible monsters outside the door were suddenly pushed out of Marik's memory. All he could do was stand limply -very uncharacteristically- and stare.

Standing darkly and incredibly ominously was none other than Ryou Bakura. His posture seemed a bit taller than usual and his muscles appeared strangely tighter. The silver hair sparkled dangerously around his hidden face and it floated ethereally with dissipating smoke.

His nose and jaw were hidden by the oxygen mask, and Marik couldn't see his eyes clearly. All the blonde boy could feel and see was a surge of relief.

Ryou Bakura slowly raised his head and revealed his bloodshot eyes. They found their target and nearly pierced through Marik's skull in a challenging glare.

"I BET YOU CAN"T BEAT MY RECORD, MARIKU!" the albino boy yelled, his vampiric stare emitting more confidence and crazed desire than Marik had ever seen. Oh, it was Bakura all right... The blonde boy could vividly picture the sadistic grin that was probably plastered on Bakura's mouth, although the mask was hiding everything.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard from the door and Marik distantly acknowledged the presence of danger. However, he just couldn't rip his gaze away from Bakura. He heard the other men yell and run, but he himself was transfixed. Bakura seemed to have the same problem, since his gaze stayed locked with Marik's.

Had Bakura heard his wish? Had Marik summoned Bakura for the second time? Marik felt so thrilled that he could hardly understand any other feeling than that of Bakura's blood-fetished glare. Marik thought about speaking but suddenly realized he didn't want to move his mouth. Only then did it dawn on him that his lips were stuck on a probably idiotic grin and couldn't even move. For the first time, Marik felt glad he was wearing that mask. After all, he didn't want Bakura seeing him act stupid, although he had the sneaking suspicion that Bakura was grinning also...

The lavender shine came back to Marik's eyes and he felt a surge of adrenaline flow through his veins. Now he was ready to fight. Bakura's passion had given him confidence.

Another crash was heard from behind Marik and this time the blonde was forced to come back to reality. He saw Bakura's eyes dart to somewhere on his back. Marik instantly spun around to see the problem but abruptly felt a sickening weight push him down from the back. He saw the floor coming closer to his face and instinctively reached out to prevent the fall.

But the person on top of him brought them tumbling to the floor.

"ARGH!" Marik involuntarily shouted as he was shoved against the metallic tiles. What was that thing that had attacked him? He could feel something warm cover his entire rear side and assumed it was the body that had brought them down on the first place.

Marik felt the person on top of him shift slightly and finally roll off. Marik shook off the uncomfortable state of feeling cold all of a sudden and rolled around to comprehend what happened.

He instantly sat up as the next occurrences came as a bit of a shock. Bakura was standing right in front of him, kicking what looked like a gigantic iron spider.

Marik gasped as he slowly started to understand...When he'd spun around, he had come face to face with the spider, so Bakura ran up to him and pushed him on the floor from the back...Wait a sec! Had Bakura protected him?

Marik intently watched the silver shine of Bakura's head as the tall boy dodged an attack from the robotic spider. Bakura wasted no time. Using an impressive kicking combo, he managed to make the spider backtrack. Then, he immediately charged and ran under the spider's body. It was all a bit too fast for the robot to comprehend, and Bakura had reached up and ripped the control cables out of its main body in no time. The spider started writhing and spinning around aimlessly, until the dying machine faded out, and the blasted thing collapsed a few feet away from Bakura.

"Damn..." Marik heard Bakura say as the white-haired god clenched and unclenched his fist "...no blood..." he finished, as a vein started to pop out of his throat in annoyance.

The next few moments felt like an eternity to Marik, who was still sitting on the floor behind Bakura. The albino demon turned around to face him, and the blonde boy almost fainted from the other's gaze.

Bakura's catastrophic anger had once again found a link to break loose. Pleasured lust and orgy was reflected in the boy's eyes and Marik could have sworn that he recognized a sense of unspoken ecstasy throb around Bakura's very existence. Bakura had this dark and bloody expression on, as though pleasured to the furthest extent.

Marik bet that if there had also been blood involved, Bakura would be even more 'excited'...

The blonde boy couldn't help but gasp as those lust-driven eyes eyed him up and down. He felt his very essence throb in response and he simply settled on staring right back at Bakura in order not to do anything inappropriate.

Bakura took a step towards Marik like a hunter would advance on his prey. Marik fought the unexplainable urge to crouch backwards, and simply settled on wordlessly observing Bakura's antics.

The fulfillment in the white-haired demon's eyes had been quickly replaced by insatiable hunger. Obviously, he hadn't had enough destruction. All that pent up anger...so this is were it found release. Marik had always known and understood that, of course, but still...

Bakura stopped walking suddenly and unexpectedly stretched a hand towards Marik. "Don't get flattered now, pretty boy. You still can't beat my record...which is increasing by the second, mind you..."

Marik eyed the palm that was stretched towards him suspiciously. Was Bakura actually 'lending a helping hand'? At seeing Bakura's impatient and somewhat hungry expression, Marik quickly grasped the hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.

"Ryou was unconscious...How did you come here?" Marik asked Bakura wearily. The spirit's passionate eyes gave a crazed look to Ryou Bakura's innocent face. A loud crash was heard in the distance and Marik finally realized that the fight wasn't over just yet.

"Kill now, talk later." Bakura stated as he turned around to assault another metallic spider, which was advancing on Taichi' s sleeping form. Marik shook his head dismissively and ran beside Bakura. He started punching and kicking another spider together with Kenji –who seemed thoroughly relieved at fighting beside Marik. A few rolls and dodges and dives, and the spider had fallen to its death.

Marik looked around and spotted Rishid effectively using a pocket- knife to rip the cables of another robot. Yugi was standing alone, still fighting a spider, which seemed to have a mechanic leg chopped off.

Marik glanced around and studied the behavioral patterns of the spiders. It wasn't easy to see in the green torch-chip light, but he still recognized the KaibaCorp badges stuck on the back of the spiders' 'heads'. He suddenly understood the reason why they had heard all those thuds and bangs before. Each time a spider moved, its huge legs banged the iron floor and its head kept flailing out of control in every direction.

Marik's eyes narrowed. What was this disgusting innovation? Some new KaibaCorp invention? Or some sort of sick experiment gone awry?

Obviously, there weren't many robots around and the small group of people seemed to be winning, a sense of relief filled Marik's chest suddenly, and he turned to check where Bakura was.

It didn't come as a real surprise when Bakura was seen bonking a spider's leg on the wall. Marik took a fleeting look of the hungry gaze Bakura had on his face, and felt his own adrenaline breakthrough.

He frantically searched around for someone or something that needed his help, but found no one. He was feeling a bit left out and didn't really know how that had happened.

"MARIK! BEHIND YOU!" Kenji suddenly yelled and Marik spun around to see an army of five spiders enter the chamber door. Ok, perhaps he had underestimated the situation. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small knife.

When he had flicked it open, he charged readily at the first spider that had come in the door. The blasted thing had enough time to move away and Marik was left to face the next robot. The spider raised a leg in lightning speed and hit Marik in the shin. He groaned and fell to the floor, only to roll around and come face to face with the first spider.

He dived immediately to the floor, before the machine could complete its attempt of crushing his scull with a flat leg.

Marik made an effort to slip under the spider's body, but the machine was just too quick. He was forced to dodge a series of attacks coming from three different robots, and hadn't managed to hurt a single one.

Sweat trickled down his back as he focused on his movements. In a fleeting moment, he saw a spider's leg close down on his ribs, so he spun around and dodged. He instantly turned around and pierced the leg with his knife. Electricity started flowing as the leg broke down, and Marik had to let go of his knife before he got electrocuted.

Well, at least the spider had lost one of its eight legs...but now Marik was weaponless, alone and surrounded by three. This didn't look good.

Another sequence of frantic dodging ensued and Marik was becoming a bit desperate. 'Where is everyone when you need them?' he thought. And as if on queue, a blue glow flashed in front of Marik's eyes.

"Rishid!" Marik shouted with relief evident in his voice. Instantly, one of the spiders was ripped down by a tanned bald man's hand.

"Master, take this!" Rishid shouted and threw Marik something that glinted in the dim light. Marik understood it was a knife, and stretched his shirt so as to catch it without getting hurt. Unfortunately, there were still two spiders left, and Rishid had immobilized only one. The sly robot took the moment that Marik was trying to catch the knife in order to hurt him.

Marik saw the knife land safely on his shirt and grinned. The smile was wiped out of his face the moment he felt something pierce mercilessly through the side of his ribcage.

Lavender eyes constricted in bruised purple when the edge of a spider's claw ripped through his flesh. His beautiful face became a mask of terror and his mouth formed a mute scream, unseen behind the mask.

It all took a moment of slow motion for Marik to actually realize what was happening. Stale pain was breaking through his body and all he could see was red. The torture doubled as the machine cruelly pulled the knife out of his body, leaving a gruesome gash and a ripped black shirt.

Marik blinked slowly, his brain giving out to the unbelievable pain. He experienced the slightly tickling sensation of some liquid slipping down his side and into his trousers –distantly recognizing it as blood. He felt sticky all over and his throbbing heart made things even more suffocating.

"MASTER!" he heard someone scream and instantly knew it was Rishid. He turned around to see the man's wide eyes, his blue robes falling limply around him.

Marik thought everything around him was moving so slow... He turned around and saw the spider that had hurt him, preparing to finish him off with another hit. He glanced down and distantly noted he was still holding the knife Rishid had given him.

A slightly high grin crossed Marik's features, his breathing becoming ragged beneath the mask. He eyed the spider with his faded violet eyes and noticed that the sensitive control cables were exposed as the spider raised its legs to kill him.

With what could be considered his final strength, Marik forced the pain away from his mind as he lunged at the spider. He grasped the knife in a death-grip and plunged it forcefully in the control panel, instantly letting go of it so as not to get hit by the electricity.

"MASTER!" he heard Rishid call again and understood what the servant wanted to tell him. There was another robot. The third spider...

Marik gave another high smile. It was probably closing in on his back -that was why Rishid was shouting. Oh well, at least he had gotten his revenge...Various images started to flash before Marik's eyes...Serenity and Ryou smiling sweetly together, Yugi winning the tournament... Then there was the blood-eyed spirit, Bakura...the way he and Bakura had fought the ninjas...Rishid' s humble expression...

Another surge of pain brought Marik to his knees and he vaguely registered that he would die as though from a guillotine. The spider would most likely chop his head off...how ironic.

A sudden flash blinded his tired eyes. Silver-white streaks glowed in front of him and Marik couldn't really understand what was going on.

He just closed his purple-blue eyes and awaited death to come to him quietly. All sounds of crashing and breaking faded away and were replaced by solemn darkness as he leaned forward on that silvery surface that was stretched in front of his face, and embraced darkness gratefully.

_Her beautiful hair flowed freely down –he always liked her hair. It was long and black and glowed blue in the light...he had never seen anything like it! He touched it eagerly, running his hands over it again and again, savoring the wonderful feeling of his hands running through the thick strands._

_She was holding him in her arms –as always. He loved that too. He just loved it when she'd hug and cradle him in her embrace. His small, chubby fingers rolled around her ear and she laughed._

"_Stop that, Marik! It tickles!" she said in that serious tropical voice he always loved to hear._

"_Nee-san!! (sister!!)" He heard his own high-pitched voice say. It sounded quite babyish. "What does 'tickles' mean?"_

_She chuckled some more and it sounded like bells clinging in his ears. "When something tickles you, it makes you laugh without reason." She explained._

_He chuckled and waved his head around, watching his own long yellow hair sparkle. He rejoiced at the bright shine. He tugged a bit on her ear and she smiled again._

"_Ne, nee-san... (hey, sister)" he started again childishly. He blinked and thought for a moment, his little blonde eyebrows pulled together in thought. "You have big ears."_

_She broke out in laughter again, although that last remark could be considered quite offending. Nevertheless, she kept laughing whole-heartedly –that's why he loved her. He just couldn't understand why she was guffawing at his very serious remark._

"_Why are you laughing!? Don't make fun of me!" he shouted indignantly but she just kept laughing, her oceanic blue eyes glinting brightly at him._

_When she finally stopped, she shook her head ethereally. "No reason." She stated._

_He felt a brilliant idea pop into his head "I know! It tickles you! That's why you laughed for no reason! Right? Nee-san?!"_

_She giggled again "Marik..." she murmured dismissively between giggles. She stretched a palm and ruffled the boy's pretty hair. He felt himself pout and try to shove her hand off, which only made her chuckle harder._

"_Marik..."_

_He watched her gleeful eyes brightly and turned to watch his own small hands. His eyes widened in fascination as he saw his own palm grow. He saw the digits become long and he noticed small blue rivers of veins pop out from his palm._

_He turned upwards to see her, but she was long gone. Only her laughter could be heard._

"_Nee-san! Nee-san!" he shouted, but to no avail. She didn't show up..._

"_Marik..."_

_He looked at his palm again and this time he noticed something running over it. It was red...and it was sticky...blood._

"_Marik..."_

_His eyes widened._

"_NEE-SAN!" he cried desperately, but was immobilized as a crippling pain shot through his ribcage so suddenly that it made him fall to his knees._

"_Marik..."_

"MARIK!!!!"

Purple eyes shot open suddenly and immediately the image of pain crawled up to the boy's face.

"Ah..." his deep rich voice groaned pathetically "It...it hurts..."

"Marik!"

"Master!"

Marik couldn't' register what had happened exactly. The dream he was having was slowly fading away, only to be replaced by the burning sensation of vivid pain.

"W-What happened?" he croaked out pathetically.

"You got hit by one of those spiders!" a girl's voice answered and Marik recognized her as Tea. Then it all started coming back to him...the robotic spiders, Bakura, the knife, Rishid, the spider stabbing him...

Suddenly, the unbearable pain on his side started to make sense. His wide unseeing eyes narrowed to a normal level and he could finally make out images and faces.

Bent on top of him was the whole group of friends, except for Serenity and Taichi. He watched the girls look at him worriedly from above. Memories of the fight started to come back to him, and he fervently searched around for the other boys.

"Kenji! Yugi! Rishid!" he shouted, but when he saw them standing there, he felt relieved. He noticed unpleasantly that Yugi was still the determined warrior and not the normal kind boy. Rishid was sitting on his left side and Kenji was looking at him from next to Lena.

Suddenly, he felt bony hands push him down from his sitting position to a lying one. When he settled down and looked up, he was greeted by what could be considered a most breathtaking sight.

Whine-red eyes shot accusingly into his hurt blue-purple ones. Marik registered that all masks had now been removed and he was exposed to the full force of Bakura's mean expression.

The demon's pink-white lips that were usually forming a cruel smirk were now pursed into a furious line. Bakura's nostrils were clearly flapping every time he breathed –indicating he was VERY angry indeed- and his cheekbones had curiously reduced to an even paler shade of pink than normal. As for his eyes, they were cursing Marik to oblivion with a passion like no other. Marik thought he saw a shadow of something else in those eyes, but couldn't really identify it as hate or fury...only anxiety.

Soon, the inevitable took place.

"What the hell were you thinking Mariku?!" the voice altered from fury asked.

Marik, now visibly weak and hurt, didn't really have the willpower to prevent himself from shrinking back. Why was Bakura so bothered, anyway?

"Why didn't you at least CALL? You could have died!" the spirit roared and no one really had the will to stop him –not even Rishid.

Marik chuckled a bit brokenly and coughed up blood in an attempt to speak. His once lean long throat had been covered in dried up blood.

"I thought you would have liked that." Marik dared to answer.

Obviously, it was a bad choice, since Bakura's demonic eyes widened in absolute ire. The raw fury that the boy emitted was so strong it could bend anything that stepped in its path.

Marik searched back in his memory and thought about the last thing that happened before he fainted. There was Rishid running to kill the last spider...and then there was that soft white surface that Marik had fallen asleep on. Oh-oh.

Slowly and very involuntarily, Marik's eyes glanced to look at Bakura's hair. Oh. So that was the soft silver-white thing...

"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA!?" Bakura positively barked upon Marik's form. Bakura was feeling his whole essence melt with the release of his anger. The moment he had seen Marik drop to the ground, he'd felt the world crash down on him. No. He wouldn't let the only person who could see him apart from Ryou die.

"What the hell do you know...you're just Marik, after all..." Bakura finally muttered, his now desperate eyes closing down to shut tightly. He shook his head dejectedly and stood up to walk away.

Marik felt guilty. He felt selfish and stupid. He never knew he could cause the spirit such anger. Bakura had enough pain and anger inside –he didn't need more. But how was he supposed to know a spider would stab him anyway?

He watched Bakura walk away somewhat darkly and he saw everyone sport a confused expression at 'Ryou's' furious face.

"Bakura!" Marik croaked when he realized that the spirit was leaving him "Wait!" he made a move to sit up but a pang of hurt abruptly shot through his spine. Unable to contain it any longer, Marik screamed reflexively and dropped to a lying position. Before he could even drop to the ground, he found strong arms encircling his torso.

"Master..." Rishid silently whispered as he took hold of his long blue cloak and used it to wipe the sweat out of Marik's face.

"Rishid...I-I'm sorry..." Marik whispered pathetically and tiredly blinked his sedated eyes.

"Don't speak, Master, keep your strength..." Rishid murmured as he patted Marik's forehead.

Meanwhile, Bakura had turned around instantly and ran to the blonde boy's side. He replayed Marik's screaming face in his mind and found nothing exciting about it –only pitiful. All he could do was bend back down to his previous position above Marik and look at the boy's torture-twisted face.

Bakura gasped. He had seen this before...at that time he secretly saw Marik's tattoo, he saw a similar situation. Only at that time, Marik didn't scream so desperately, and he didn't loose so much blood.

But it was still the same expression, and Bakura fought down the very peculiar sense of terror and fright that penetrated his supposedly non-existing heart.

"Bakura..." Marik murmured nearly inaudibly but the albino managed to hear it. When Rishid saw the demon bend above Marik, he backed away and stood protectively a few meters away.

Bakura bent down and took hold of Marik's face with both hands. "Marik, look at me!" Bakura ordered a bit fervently, for once not worrying whether his concern would show or not.

Marik opened his eyes with great effort, but his head kept falling back and was steadied only by Bakura's hands.

"Look at me!" the spirit ordered once again, and inflicted more pressure on the boy's face. Marik finally steadied his gaze on Bakura's anxious one.

Ironic, thought Marik. The one person whose attention he always failed to attract chose now to care for him, of all times. Oh, how he'd craved to impress Bakura, and make him acknowledge what a great leader he could be...and now, all he could show was weakness...and he hated it. He distantly noted Bakura was keeping a tight hold of his head and he realized how hot Bakura's digits felt on his skin.

"C-Cold..." Marik whimpered pathetically, hating his own stuttering voice for making him look like a weakling in front of hard-cored Bakura. But curiously, the albino didn't seem to mind. Instead, he squeezed Marik's head a bit, receiving a small groan from the fallen beauty.

"He's lost too much blood!" Lena frantically commented.

"Hold on! Marik!" Tea yelled anxiously.

Bakura's bloodshot gaze was frantically searching around, not knowing what to do to help the one person who could help HIM. "Marik..." he started urgently, making a ghost of a smile appear on Marik's face. Of all the people who had given him their attention in his life, none of it felt as good as this.

"Where does it hurt?" Bakura inquired swiftly. It was obvious that he didn't know how to be soft and gentle...it must have been a great effort.

Marik had to think where the great pain was coming from, since he felt like his whole body was in pain. He wanted to open his eyes and tell Bakura how glad he was that he had somebody to care for him, but all he could do was cough pathetically.

"R-Right side..." he managed to croak out. Bakura nodded mutely and softly let go of Marik's face, letting it sink gently to the floor.

"Our right or your right?" Kenji made the most idiotic question one could think of at a time like this -which was oddly significant. Bakura spun around and pinned Kenji on the wall with a death-glare, effectively silencing him.

Marik vaguely registered the fact that hot bony fingers where running over his shirt-covered torso and groping around for his wound. Bakura's hands eventually did find the target, and when the spirit softly ran his digits over the wound, Marik hissed.

Bakura's eyes widened at the blonde's hurt expression. He tried to suppress the sense of fear that had covered his insides. He removed his fingers from the sticky area and looked at his hand. It was covered in thick red liquid- Marik's blood.

Normally, Bakura would have licked it off with sadistic pleasure, but right now he didn't feel like taking pleasure from Marik's pain. Actually, he generally didn't feel like taking ecstasy out of other peoples' pain right now...what was wrong with him?

"Oh God! Turn him around!" Lena urged. Bakura did just that and received tortured little gasps from Marik as he handled the beaten body with care.

"Just how big is it?" Yugi asked and Bakura had to fight the urge to punch everyone and make them shut up. Couldn't they see Marik needed help rather than talk? Mortals these days...

Bakura's heart started to thump decidedly faster at the prospect of seeing the wound. Marik felt bony fingers run over the skin of his belly and to the side of his ribs, and he gasped at the burning sensation.

Inevitably, Bakura found what he was looking for and his red eyes widened as he touched it. Marik felt his skin be exposed to the burning cold when Bakura rolled the shirt up enough to reveal the ugly gash, and the blonde started to thrash around pathetically.

Rishid held the boy down by his shoulders as Bakura tried to unglue the shirt from the sticky wound. When the shirt made a ripping disgusting sound, Marik flailed his head around miserably and cried.

"Take the god damn shirt off, Ryou!" Yugi shouted at Bakura, who had to refrain from eviscerating the boy then and there, so he nodded instead. He made a move to take hold of the shirt and tear it off but was stopped by Marik's cry.

"NO!" he shouted and finally escaped Rishid' s grasp. He was obviously in pain, but ignored it for the sake of whatever it was he wanted. Bakura gaped at him, openly confused.

"No..." Marik muttered this time "Not the shirt!" he pleaded "Anything but the shirt"

Bakura's eyes widened and the demonic red started to swirl in fiery circles inside them. "What are you talking about, you idiot? This is no time to be shy!!"

Marik shook his head frantically and tried to ignore his pain. He squirmed a bit, trying to move out of Bakura's grasp on his clothes, but failed miserably seeing as the albino was healthier and stronger.

"It's not that! Just don't take my shirt off!" Marik urgently shouted, now giving up on his efforts to escape Bakura and simply trying to convince the albino. "Please...anything but that..." All sly and seductive charms were lost, as Marik appeared to be utterly desperate and openly begging. Bakura didn't really know how to react, so he escaped on his usual method: fury.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH YOU?" the albino resembled a lion in a cage, and his anger threw Marik's crumbling spirit to the ground "YOU NEED HELP, DO YOU UNDERSTAND???!!! YOU'RE GONNA DIE, YOU FREAKIN' IDIOT!!"

The knuckles of Bakura's hands had become white from his force and Marik could only allow himself to be handled like a ragged doll –shaken and thrown around to the furthest extent.

The blonde boy watched Bakura's frantic bloody eyes constrict in blind anxiety, which effectively pummeled his anger. Marik himself had become hyperventilated. He flailed arms and limbs around, trying to make himself clear.

Bakura ignored him and steadied his shaking form. The moment he started lifting up Marik's shirt, the fallen boy raised his tanned arms and shoved the albino off with surprising force. Bakura stumbled away, clearly surprised and with an expression that promised pain and suffering to anything that got in his way. Smartly concealed rejection was drawn all over the demon's face, as he watched Marik writhe frantically on the floor. What on Earth was his problem? He was only going to take his shirt off, not kill him, for goodness sake!

"NO." Marik shouted "You can't take it off! You can't see! RISHIDO! Don't let him see it! Don't let him take it off! Don't let him see it! Rishido!!" Marik kept screaming and shouting, thus startling everyone around.

Rishid immediately stood up and ran to Marik's side, calming the boy and whispering soothing words in his ears. Marik already felt naked and exposed to everyone...it showed from the way he kept rubbing his hands and torso.

In the meantime, Bakura was standing, unmoving. His irises had long since narrowed completely and sunk into his orbs of blood. He was frozen and unbelieving as it suddenly dawned on him. Marik didn't want him to see...He didn't want him to see his back. He didn't want him to see the gory scar he had secretly stumbled upon the other day.

Fresh rejection killed Bakura's soul. Was he not trustworthy? Was he not...good? No, he wasn't. That had stopped a long time ago. It only made sense for Marik not to trust him. This sudden realization only made Bakura feel more crippled, more lonely and more angry than ever!

The spirit in Ryou's body watched Rishid turn to him with an accusing glare. He wanted to tell everyone he'd seen the scar. He wanted to tell Marik that he could trust him...but all that came out was frantic, anxious fury. It was probably the only feeling he could effectively express any more.

"FINE!" he shouted "YOU DON"T WANT TO TAKE THE FRIGGING SHIRT OFF? FINE!!" he advanced on Marik's form, which was protected by Rishid. Bakura promptly pushed Rishid away with unearthly force and stood over Marik.

With two swift movements, Bakura took hold of his own white cloak and pulled it over his head, revealing the clothes he was wearing inside. He took hold of his green army t-shirt and ferally tore off all the lower part.

Everyone watched in disbelief as the individual they once new as calm Ryou Bakura had now ripped his own shirt and was making long bands out of it.

He eventually reached out and took hold of Marik's body, shoving the boy down and settling on top of him. He started working fervently tying the new green bandages around Marik's bloody torso.

"What the heck are you doing?" Yugi asked with an air of authority.

"What does it look like I'm doing, you ignoramus!? I'm bandaging his wound!!" Bakura snapped back as he kept working on Marik's waist.

"What?" Rika asked in surprise "Look, Ryou, I don't know how things worked in the 21st century, but here, we don't use such techniques..."

She was interrupted suddenly, when she found herself being shoved against the wall by a completely irate Bakura. Her whole body became numb as it came in contact with his frigid one. His disgusting piercing eyes penetrated her entire skull and his mouth was so close to hers that his hot breath was forced down her throat.

"Listen here, girly. I don't know what you do here...but I know what we used to do...and I know it works. So shut your mouth or I'll make it shut, cappice?"

He waited momentarily for her reaction, only to find she was unable to give one. Her eyes were glazed in horror and her jaw was hanging open.

"Good." He finished, the passionate anger in his gaze filling her senses. He left her hanging on the wall, her exhalation becoming ragged and forced.

Bakura turned back to look at Marik's body which had a puddle of blood gathered under it. The green bands had already been painted red from Marik's wound...Bakura glanced around at the suspicious expressions of the others.

"The cloths will slow his circulation around that area" he simply stated, trying to convey the message to what he considered dummies "Hopefully, it will help until we find proper medication."

Kenji shook his head. "Serenity is a doctor...she could help him. But she's unconscious..."

"W-What happened while I was out?" Marik asked shakily, trying to avoid any kind of movement. He turned his gaze to look at Bakura, who now seemed thoroughly disheveled. The boy's white strands seemed dirty and positively greasy, while his pale face had smudges and sweat over it. His green shirt that had been ripped hung loosely on his body, revealing a good deal of creamy white skin. As for his black trousers...they looked torn and worn out at several places.

The albino turned to Marik and glared. "Don't try to speak. You'll only get worse. Oh, but of course you won't let us take your shirt off, will you??!!"

Marik felt a tad disappointed at being treated so harshly by the same person that helped him only a minute ago. It wasn't his fault that he had to hide it...If only Bakura knew the reason...

"Well, Marik, about your question..." Tea started, typically trying to brighten the mood "When that spider hit you and you managed to destroy it, Rishid took out the one remaining. Meanwhile, Ryou came and saved you. Then, when all the spiders were gone, we set you here and tried to wake you up...In the meantime, the electrical power came back and the computer informed us that the gas was gone from the air... Kaiba didn't do anything ever since. He probably thinks we are dead and left us here or something..." She concluded.

Marik tried to smile in comfort, but only managed a slow grin.

"Yeah! Ryou, I've never seen you look so worried before! Not even when Serenity and Taichi passed out!" Kenji remarked. The boy didn't know he was digging his own grave. Bakura promptly spit out the water he had been sipping and glared at Kenji.

"What?" Kenji asked, thus continuing his ignorance.

Meanwhile, Marik was contemplating the last words. Bakura had been worried? But he had cursed and shouted and roared...and yet the others said he was worried...but it was impossible! Bakura? Worry for HIM of all people?!?

The hurt boy's eyes were lazily falling to shut, but... a loud crashing sound suddenly shook him off. Everyone's attention snapped and they felt the ground start to shake.

"AHH!" Rika and Lena screamed as they fell to the hard metal floor. Yugi also fell, trying to cushion Tea's dropping body. Rishid tried to steady his balance but failed eventually.

Marik was feeling increasingly dizzy. The blood loss had been severe and now the shaking ground was not an improvement.

A sudden thud echoed from his left and he slowly turned his face to see none other than Bakura. Marik's lost purple eyes widened as he watched the albino's beautiful hair flow around his head. Bakura's face was turned the other way, and Marik could see he was struggling.

"What's going on??" Kenji yelled above all else.

"Isn't Kaiba gone!!? That's what the radars showed!!" Yugi questioned.

"AAAHHHHH!!!!!" Tea screamed as she rolled around on the floor, shaken away harshly by a thump on the ground.

"Shut up, you wench!!" Bakura managed to bark out above all else. Marik had to refrain from laughing which would lead to moving his lungs and hurting.

Bakura was also shaken and forced to roll on his other side. Marik, who was already beaten and hurt, didn't take the shaking ground too well.

"AARGHH!!" he screamed at being forced violently to his side. Marik cursed under his breath. Why did he always have to appear weak in front of Bakura- the only person he ever really wanted to prove himself to? Rishid obviously heard the cry of pain, and tried to crouch to his master, but the shaking ground would allow nothing of the sort.

Marik was thrown from one side to the other repeatedly. The hurt was so intense that his eyes started to become glossy from tears, in spite of his own will.

Suddenly, he felt someone take hold of his arm and grab onto it for dear life. A thin, lean and soft body cushioned his next fall.

"Bakura..." he started saying, as another thump on the ground send them both to hit the nearby wall. The albino hit the wall with his back, and was crushed for a second time when Marik's limp body came tumbling on his from the front.

Bakura let out an 'oof' as his breath left his lungs. Marik pathetically tried to lift his body away, only to discover he had no strength left.

"Bakura...Why do you...?" he started.

"Shut the hell up, pretty boy! I'm only doing it coz you're the only one who can control that loony CEO!!"

Marik found a smile gracing his lips, but unfortunately, it didn't last too long. He watched Serenity and Taichi' s lifeless bodies fly from one side of the floor to the other and idly wondered if Ryou and originally sweet Yugi were having the same luck in their sleeping minds.

Suddenly, as fast as the chaos had come, it stopped. The banging stopped and the shaking ceased, only to be replaced by dead silence. Marik couldn't really feel the newborn tension, since he could only focus on his pain.

Bakura and the others, however, could clearly experience the freezing atmosphere and impending silence.

A voice broke out from somewhere, and Marik distantly realized it was coming from the spaceship speakers...That hardened voice...he'd heard it before...It could only be...Kaiba!

"Dear, dear idiot friends..." a very cold, very mean baritone was heard from the speakers. Bakura smirked. What a pathetic try to sound like a villain! Everyone in the ship, however, thought differently, as Kaiba's positively merciless voice continued.

"So glad you could join us...did you like my little pets? They're just starting to evolve..."

Everyone shuddered at that. Starting to evolve? What was that? Was Kaiba growing an entire race of insect- killer machines??!

"Well, I DID hope you'd just let them kill you and let this sad ordeal finish nice and easy, but no...you just had to have it the hard way...Am I right, Marik?"

Marik raised his head with all his remaining strength and strained his ears to hear better. Bakura's arms were currently holding him from around the shoulders, trying to steady him without touching the wound.

"Or did my little insect leave too much of a scar on you?? Of course I can see you found comfort in the arms of something very much like yourself...a guinea pig!!"

Bakura growled and Marik fought the urge to shout. He wasn't in the mood for Kaiba's sick sarcasm right now. He might have been, if he was healthy and strong, but for now he just wanted quiet. But wait a minute...how did Kaiba know Marik was in Bakura's 'arms', anyway? Could he possibly..?

"I can SEEEEE you, Marik...hahaha..." a cruel chuckle sent shivers down everyone's spine. "You see, I took the time that your electric blacked out, to hijack your system...and make it follow my orders, naturally..."

"What the hell do you want, Kaiba?" Marik hoarsely croaked out, but was immediately silenced as a stabbing pain shot into his ribcage. He felt his knees buckle at once and he fell forward on Bakura, who caught him tightly.

"Haha..." Kaiba evilly laughed "Well, if it isn't the great Marik Ishtar.... Let us all admire you now, beauty queen!"

Marik gulped down blood and realized he had no energy for Kaiba's games. Let him say what he wants...

"Well, you always WERE a little slut, Ishtar...I'm actually surprised you don't dress like a bitch anymore...or did you lose the male-model pageant?"

Marik growled deep in his throat. If only he had the power to speak...

"You probably noticed the slight shaking of your ship." Kaiba commented dryly and Bakura really felt like punching something. 'Slight shaking' ? 'SLIGHT shaking??'

"Well, it's all part of the process" Kaiba continued, his voice deepening in sadism "You've probably not even noticed that my MEGA-KC cargo ship has attached itself on your pathetic pod as we speak...With your little leader broken like that, how could a bunch of imbeciles like yourselves understand it?'

Everyone looked at each other with horrified expressions and Marik looked up at Bakura's face, which was a mask of hidden feeling.

"Our cargo ship will haul you to our Base in the Kleria Galaxy...Oh! And don't even try taking control of your ship. I'm in charge of everything from here. Any little stunt, and I blow you all up. Actually, you should all be flattered that I didn't do that right away...I'm giving you a compliment by actually letting you waste my precious time instead of killing you and getting it over with..."

' Oh yes...' Marik thought 'this is definitely it...Now he's made the fly stick under his shoe...he'll crush it soon enough...'

"Oh! I almost forgot...hahaha" a cruel chuckle came after that. "Since I don't trust you, or your fearless leader at that, I decided I'd give you a little time to...'chill out' I'm sure it will shake your unconscious friends off their beauty sleep...It will be a refreshing change...don't you think, Ishtar?" the voice ironically inquired.

"You...bastard" Marik groaned through pained gasps. The blonde boy understood what that heartless sadist was saying. He had set the air conditioning to the coldest possible. So that's why it was mysteriously chilly...now, if Kaiba didn't murder them when they reached the Base, they would freeze to death before they even reached the base.

"Well, that's all for now...Don't worry...we'll see each other soon. Oh, and Marik! I just love that new bloody look..."

With those last words, the voice faded to oblivion and left the company of ten in complete silence.

All they could do was stare at each other. The whole pressure fell on the handsome blonde's shoulders and he felt his whole body fall down. He somehow acknowledged that he actually fell on Bakura's body with a soft 'poof'. The others seemed to relax as well, since Tea dropped in Yugi's embrace and stayed there motionlessly. As for the girls, they just fell to unusual silence.

The all stayed there wordlessly for a few minutes, noticing the increasing frostiness of the air.

"We're going to die." Was the remark that had interrupted everyone's thoughts. It was Rika who had commented, and not even her fear of Bakura could stop her from saying it. "He's going to kill us." She dryly continued.

"Not if we kill him first." Bakura stated blankly. At this Marik couldn't help but smirk. Kill him first? That sounded so much like Bakura. Even at the most crazed situations, he found the solution of pain.

"We could just escape, you know...Being the good guys doesn't include manslaughter..." Marik commented distantly, as he fought to keep his eyes open. It wouldn't serve for him to fall asleep with a wound of that size. Bakura smirked as a response.

"I vote kill him and get it over with." He answered. Everyone was a bit shocked at hearing 'Ryou' utter such words. Wasn't Ryou the calm and placating one? Where had all that inner peace gone?

"We're not gonna die." A powerful voice was heard and everyone turned to Yugi. Marik clearly recognized the look of a man who believed he could defeat everything and everyone. It really was the spirit of a warrior, as the legend of the necklace said. "All we have to do is believe in what we have." He concluded.

"What's that?" Kenji asked with a tone that said he wasn't really interested.

"Our friends." Yugi concluded. Bakura rolled his eyes and Marik grinned. He was right. Yugi did have the belief that what was played in virtual games was real. In Yugi's world, he could defeat everything and everyone...'our friends' was just the proof that he hadn't been living in the real world –not really.

Not everyone has friends. Not really. Until recently, Marik himself didn't have any real friends except Rishid. What Yugi actually meant by saying 'believe in your friends' was 'defeat the enemy by using teamwork'...Well that was practical, and it taught you an important lesson: learn to rely on other people. Most people in here already knew what that meant, or else they wouldn't have reached this far...

It was just a bit confusing to hear Yugi talk like that. What he meant to say was right and just, but he didn't say it the right way. He should have said : rely on each other, and we'll bring Kaiba down together. But he chose to select words used in novels and he said: believe in your friends and you will defeat the enemy with your friendship.

Marik shook his head dismissively. All this rant was giving his throbbing brain a headache. He noted suddenly that the air had become extra cold. The wound on his side was becoming colder by the second, and he could feel the hot blood freeze on his body. This wouldn't help one bit...

His teeth clattered involuntarily, and he received a strange glance from Bakura.

"Are you okay?" he asked with his usual petrifying gaze.

Marik nodded shakily, not trusting his voice enough to speak. He didn't want to look like a wimp in front of blood-loving Bakura, so he settled on not whining about the cold. Bakura obviously didn't buy the answer and pretended to resume his attention on the ongoing conversation. Marik sighed a bit miserably and looked away, oblivious of Bakura's distracted glance on his face.

Suddenly, a soft moan was heard from the sleeping peoples' direction. Rika and Lena hoarsely turned to greet the sight of a waking Serenity.

"Serena!!" Rika yelled and jumped on the now half-sleeping girl.

Serenity's hazel eyes opened lazily and she yawned. She rubbed her head slowly, idly wondering where all these bruises had come from and why her body hurt like hell. Distantly, she noticed the atmosphere was much too cold and snuggled up to Rika for warmth.

"What happened?" Serenity asked slowly.

"Oh, nothing...we were only attacked by these giant spiders, Marik got stabbed and Kaiba is dragging us to his galactic base...oh!" she whispered the last part "...and Ryou's been acting freaky all day long! I don't know what's wrong with him, but he keeps cursing and stuff."

That was way too much information for poor Serenity who could only stare at her friend in surprise.

"WHAT?" she finally asked a little too loudly.

"Look for yourself." Rika motioned around the now crushed bridge. Serenity gasped at what she saw and covered her mouth with her hands.

The room was utterly trashed. The door had been brought down and the walls had been smashed so badly that Serenity wondered how come they didn't end up in outer space.

As for the people...Taichi was lying next to her, seemingly unconscious. Rika was beside her and Lena was sitting on the floor a few feet further. Tea and Yugi had cuddled up to each other and were curled up on balls on the floor. Then there was Kenji, who was trying to warm his hands with his breath. Rishid was nearby, and he had his knees pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs.

And then...

"Marik!" Serenity cried.

There were her two best friends –one of them being her secret crush. Ryou Bakura was sitting on the floor and leaning on the wall with his back. His whole body seemed tattered and bruised, while his clothing was ripped and torn at various spots. Sprawled morbidly on his lap was none other than the exotic boy, Marik, who seemed very out of place in this frozen climate. His usually sparkling eyes had decreased to a pathetic blue in the soft lights and his blonde hair was covered with dirt and grease so thick that one couldn't recognize the golden shine any more...And then, Marik's usually healthy tanned complexion had decreased to a gothic pale, much too morbid for the tropical boy. His black clothes had been pulled and torn, while several cloths were wrapped tightly around his waist. And wait a minute...was that blood?

"S-Serena?" Marik's pathetic try to speak came out. The girl's heart almost broke apart. What had once been the rich bass now echoed as a disbelieving whisper. What vile man would hurt such a creature? Who would have the heart to do it?

"Marik!" Serenity stood up instantly, bruises and tiredness forgotten, and ran to her lying friends. When she reached Marik, she grasped his blood- stained palm gingerly and smiled tentatively.

"I'm so glad you're okay..." said Marik, with the air of a man who is about to die soon and wants to tell everyone he loves how much he cares about them. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Marik...what happened to you?" Serenity asked gingerly. "Ryou, what's wrong with him?" she raised her head, expecting to meet Ryou's usual kind mahogany orbs. She had to bite back a scream when she met a couple of inhumane red albino eyes. Oh no...it was the spirit again...what was he doing with Marik? Had he done this to him?

Fortunately for the girl, Bakura loved his Brightside way too much so as not to offend the girl he loved. He decided he would make a remote attempt of being nice to her.

Serenity watched, aghast, as the red eyes deepened and became oval and deep brown. The boy's gravity-defying hair slowly calmed down into normal soft streaks and his rippling muscles loosened to a leaner and somewhat thinner look. Before her very eyes, Dark Ryou's posture changed from demonic to angelic. For a moment, she was fooled into believing it really was Ryou. But then again, nobody knew Ryou's eyes as well as she did...and it was still Bakura. He was simply using Ryou's face.

"He got hurt by one of the robot spiders Kaiba sent after us..." he talked in Ryou's silky voice. Serenity really wanted to tell him to stop pretending, but restrained herself nonetheless. "That thing stabbed him at the side when he wasn't looking." He pointed to Marik's wound and Serenity gasped at seeing it.

"Is it true?" she asked Marik, who nodded wearily. He had been much too preoccupied at admiring Bakura's nearly flawless imitation of Ryou.

"Then why didn't you wake me?" Serenity asked everyone in general, in a very exasperated tone.

"It's a long story, but now that you're here...perhaps you'd like to take a look at his wounds, doctor." Rika said.

Serenity nodded wildly. "Get me the supplies from the hangar, someone! This shack still has supplies, right?"

Rika shrugged. "I'm not really sure, but I'll go check, anyway." With those last words, Rika ran out the shredded door and to the hangar.

Meanwhile, Rishid and 'Ryou' were carrying Marik to a nearby counter, while Kenji attempted to wake his friend Taichi. He would freeze in the cold if he didn't awaken soon.

"My God, Marik! The blood nearly froze! Why is it so cold in here anyway?" Serenity commented wildly, trying to ignore Bakura's imposing stares.

"Long story." Lena said. "But don't worry, you have plenty of time to find out about everything...just focus on Marik, for now."

"Yeah!" Tea suddenly said from Yugi's embrace. "Just don't take his shirt off or he'll start screaming again."

"Huh?" Serenity asked with a puzzled look.

Bakura huffed, still feeling indignant about Marik not trusting him with that secret, although he already knew what it was "Marik doesn't want to take off his shirt." He replied with just the right amount of sweetness in his voice to pass as Ryou "Please try to respect that wish, Serena."

'Don't use that nickname, you...' Serenity couldn't help but think. Then again, she really couldn't blame him. It was the smartest way to supposedly 'fool' her –by using a pet name that Ryou himself had chosen for her. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his comment about Marik. She turned to the hurt, lying boy.

"Marik?" she obviously asked for his approval. She couldn't really trust Bakura, anyway...

Marik tiredly nodded "Please don't... " he simply voiced, and Serenity nodded in understanding. More secrets, more problems...she sighed. Well, it would have to wait for later.

Just then, Rika showed up with the proper 25th century medication and medical equipment. She was thrilled to see Taichi had also woken up after a great amount of shaking from Kenji.

Just then, Yugi turned to Tea.

"I think it's time to go now...you know what I mean..." he murmured.

Tea nodded lightly, her cobalt eyes shining. "Thanks...for everything..." she said.

Yugi smiled "I did it for my Partner...it was his ship that was being trashed..." he said and Tea shook her head in understanding. "You must be careful with Kaiba...my Partner will surely make it, but I'll be watching just in case." Yugi completed.

"Take care..." she whispered as the pyramid locket around Yugi's neck started to shine. Everyone turned and looked at it strangely, including Bakura, Serenity and Marik.

"What's happening?" Kenji asked and Tea smiled at him.

"The locket has a special torch chip enhanced...It glows every one hour. Am I right, Yugi?"

Yugi smiled with his huge, kind eyes widening in sweetness. "Absolutely." He answered as he took his golden locket and looked at it whit a smile.

Nobody except Bakura and Marik had seen the thick mist cover Yugi's body. No one had seen his body change to a shorter, slimmer version and his eyes change from determined to sweet and kind.

"Okay, people. Let's get this over with!" Serenity's naturally melodic voice echoed in everyone's ears. She was, of course, referring to the cleansing of Marik's wound. The cold was beginning to get a little too itchy and they didn't have much time.

Bakura's actually tired expression turned to Marik "I guess that's my queue, Mariku." He murmured so that no one could hear –not even Serena. For a moment, as he was looking into Marik's broken face, his eyes flashed from Ryou's deep mahogany to Bakura's bloody red.

Marik nodded silently, not registering the pain that crawled into his overly numb body with the doctor's every touch. "Thank you..." he voiced somewhat miserably, and was grateful to see Bakura's eyes flash red once more. That one moment, the red eyes had looked at him with such surprise...as though Bakura didn't know people could thank each other...as though he didn't know words could be used for other purposes than cursing...

Ryou's unperturbed expression smirked right back at him finally "Keep your pants on, pretty boi. I only did it coz you're the only one who may someday break my record...Wouldn't wanna dump such a rare competitor."

Marik gave a pathetic attempt to laugh, only to receive shouts and reprimands from Serenity.

"I'm going...but I'll be back. Wouldn't want to miss all the fun of maiming Kaiba, now would I?"

Marik's hurt face formed a soundless smirk. Bakura's eyes flashed red once more, this time portraying cruelty and mirth.

"Besides...my wimpy Brightside can't even handle his own panties..."

"Is Ryou hearing this?" Marik inquired and Bakura had to lean forward in order to listen to the whispery voice.

"Are you kidding? He was still sleeping from that toxic until fifteen minutes ago...I've blocked him out ever since. That little wimp."

Marik grinned, feeling the need to be happy. He knew he would soon have to face the challenge of Kaiba. This was just a little break, where everyone tried to forget their problems. Soon...the real chase would begin. Kaiba was after them, and the consequences of that simple statement were just starting to break-through.

The blonde stayed silent and blinked his eyes slowly. The world faded out momentarily with the image of Bakura's whine red eyes. He just blinked, but the moment he reopened his eyes, he saw mist fading away from around Bakura Ryou's form. A faint glow came from within the albino's torn green shirt and when the boy's eyes fluttered open, they were a confused dark brown...Ryou's sincere stare.

Marik turned around slowly, and his suspicions were verified. Yugi was petrified, his huge eyes stuck on Ryou's form and the fading mist around the boy. He had seen it too...Yugi could see Ryou's spirit, just like Ryou could see his own.

Ryou stared at Marik with a confused and simultaneously horrified stare.

"What just happened? What did I do? Marik! Was I the one who hurt you like this???!!" Ryou asked too many questions for Marik's numb mind to comprehend. He settled on answering the simplest one.

The blonde boy managed a smile.

"You mean just now? Oh nothing...you just spaced out on me."

To Be Continued

A/n: I really liked the last phrase. I really like the whole 'having secret relationships behind other peoples' back's thing, although Marik and Bakura are not in a relationship...--;...anyway please RR


	10. KC Base

**Hey guys! Okay, this chapter is too big –even for me!!! I'm afraid I might lose my few reviewers because of the lengthof this chappie!! Please don't hate me about this: read it in doses if you are too bored! This is a really good chapter though –and very important to the plot!**

**ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:**

****

**v son sayian:**_thank you for your reviews! You can't imagine how happy you made me! I wrote all of chapter nine just because of that huge review!! Please don't stop reviewing! Your questions and everything motivate me to write more!!_

**newblue2:**_Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about Joey! He'll show up in a couple of chapters! I promise you I'll do my best to include flash backs and stuff, though...This chapter doesn't talk about him that much....but I promise the next chapter will have more Joey and Earth-related flashbacks!!_

**Tramontana Keeper:**_ teehee!! I like the Marik/Bakura moments too!!! Not because it's shounen ai, or anything, but mainly because their feelings are more natural. You know...sometimes I'm just out of inspiration with Ryou/Serenity...It's not like the couple isn't interesting...It's just that all this lovey-dovey stuff gets boring after a while...Please don't stop reading because of this HUGE chapter!! You're my most devoted reviewer!!_

The air around them had turned icy. Lena and Rika kept hugging girlishly while sitting on the floor in search for warmth and comfort. As for the guys...no such luck. Kenji and Taichi were sitting helplessly on the metallic tiles of the spaceship floor. They had no other source of warmth than to try and keep active. Thus they had resulted to an aimless chat, where Kenji informed Taichi of everything that had happened while he was out due to toxins.

Tea kept rubbing her arms and seeking support from Yugi, who was sitting right next to her. Serenity truly pitied the boy. Albeit tall and sturdy, Yugi was a bit too thin for his age. He didn't seem to be faring to well in the polar atmosphere. The fact that he tried to comfort Tea instead of himself, however, was praiseworthy.

Yugi could sometimes act inexplicably valiantly. Right then, he was obviously cold and trembling, but he tried to help the damsel in distress first. Yugi's huge, sweet eyes had glazed over with weakness and his incredible spiky hair was adorned with bits of ice.

A few feet away, Serenity and Ryou were sitting suspiciously close to each other on the floor. Serenity had her legs pulled against her chest and her arms wrapped around them, while Ryou had settled on resting his elbows on his knees.

The albino boy was blinking steadily, trying to breathe easily. His snowy hair was still dirty and dull, while his ripped clothing was not helping one bit. He kept eyeing Serenity worriedly, periodically reaching out and stroking her hair in a motherly manner.

The girl was trying not to show her weakness, so she tried to focus on watching her hot breath leave her mouth in a visible misty trail. She wished she could muster the courage to cuddle up to Ryou, but didn't know whether he'd feel comfortable or not. Unbeknownst to her, the silver-haired boy was having the same thoughts.

The lighting of the room was that of a dark blue alcove and the whole scene eerily reminded Ryou of a refrigerator. He shook his head suddenly, and saw parts of frost fly from his hair. He sighed. How much longer would they have to endure this? The air was obviously getting colder every second...

Well, at least until now they'd had something to talk about. Lena and Rika had told Serenity everything that happened while she was unconscious.

Ryou was also ignorant about what Bakura had been doing with his body, but couldn't ask the girls...Lena and Rika would think his was crazy. After all, he was supposed to be there all the time. How would it sound if he asked the girls what his own body had been doing?

Periodically, he kept noticing various things, like the way Rika was trying to avoid him and the way Rishid kept glaring at him for some reason. He was also very unhappy to see his torn shirt and the bruises in his arms. What the heck? According to the girls' sayings, he had fought robotic spiders...Oh well.

Ryou tried to search in his mind for Bakura. Maybe the spirit could...give him some answers.

/Bakura! Are you there? / Ryou inquired mentally.

It didn't come as much of a surprise when no answer came. Typical Bakura. First he ruins Ryou's reputation and then he disappears. Ryou sighed loudly and glanced around.

He saw Rishid standing rigidly beside a nearby wall. How could that man stand so still? Naturally, a few inches beside Rishid was laying the battered body of none other than his precious master.

What once was a seductive, tropical beauty was now reduced to a bloodstained, worn body. Marik's eyes were closed and he was clearly sedated. After Serenity had used special techniques that Ryou didn't even want to know about, she had managed to make Marik's 'skin tissues reproduce immediately'. Thus, Marik's wounds had closed. The loss of blood, however, was severe; and Serenity didn't have a blood bank with her!!

So the blonde boy was instructed to rest, a thing not very hard when you have lost about the three fifths of your blood. But the atmosphere was cold, and the weak Marik could die in his sleep if exposed to the cold for too long.

Ryou soon found out there was a solution for that too; in this century...Thin-layered, sticker-like little bags had been attached to Marik's body. They had the ability to produce a small amount of heat for a short while.

Since they only had five of those, they decided to use them all to keep the patient in a relatively good state. Consequently, no one else could have a 'magic' tab...they were alone and unarmed in the cold.

Serenity sighed. Would Marik ever wake up? She was starting to get worried already. They had made sure he would stay a little warm, but these things must be well taken care of...

She turned to Ryou and wrapped her hands around one of his arms. He smiled and patted her head with that wise, monk-like smile. He remotely registered that the girl's lips had turned blue from the cold.

But there was nothing he could do. He didn't even have a jacket to lend her... He finally decided that his shyness could come after Serena's health.

With a fluid movement, he reached out and took her in his arms, momentarily rejoicing in the sparks of heat the fraction of their bodies produced. But it was soon gone, and now they were cold again.

He watched her face carefully for any sign of disapproval, but all he saw was blessed contentment. Maybe she'd been hoping for this, after all...

The girl had now ultimately sunk in her angel's arms, savoring the simple show of affection in the cold. Neither of them was washed and clean. Neither of them was perfectly healthy and beautiful at this point. But Serenity still felt as though this was the happiest moment of her life.

She opened her eyes lazily, only to come face to face with Ryou's throat. He had placed his chin over her hair and had wrapped his arms completely around her waist. She, in turn, had her hands pressed against his chest and her head resting soundly at the crook of his throat.

From where she was, she could see Ryou's snowy locks from an extreme close-up. She reached a palm and started to play with a few silvery strands. Tiredly, she noted that Ryou's hair was not completely white or completely silver. It was both, depending on the light...

In the blue sunlight of Mercury, she had seen his hair turn light blue...and in the red moonlight it had been dyed red...She idly wondered how Ryou's hair would shine under the sun of the Earth –the white lighted one. Would she ever see that? Would they ever reach Earth?

A sudden hit of nausea hit Serenity as her thoughts came to rest on one single person.

Joey...her brother.

What about him? Would she ever see him again? Her guiltiness started eating at her gut once more. Now she was cold and helpless, but Joey had always felt like this in the Catacombs...Always helpless and worn...and what had she done for her brother? What had she done to help him? She left the house.

Unconsciously, Serenity squeezed Ryou closer to her...She could remember her brother's dirty blonde hair falling over his kind, sincere brown eyes. The deepness of those eyes had always amazed her...well-hidden pain and anxiety was always hidden inside them.

That boy, Joey...He had gone through so much...He had endured unbelievable pain before Serenity even understood what to be in pain meant. As for his dreams of becoming an artist...they were lost. Lost in the sands of time and in the heat of the Catacombs. Was he alive? Would she ever see him again?

And to think she was the one who left him on the first place...he would hate her. He would hate her and she couldn't blame him...Serenity gulped pathetically. She was guilty, so guilty... How many more people would get hurt on this crazy quest? Would her friends still be alive when they reached Earth? Would SHE survive?

She slowly turned her head around to look at Marik's lifeless body –the steady heaving of the boy's chest was the only proof of breath. The first victims of Kaiba's fury had been their scientist friends in Mercury...but Marik was the first real victim she had ever seen up close.

She watched a frozen trail of red that started from Marik's exposed belly and finally sunk in his trousers. The very blood had frozen on his skin- the cold was truly more than she could imagine...

"I hope Marik gets well." She found herself muttering involuntarily, her voice muffled from Ryou's chest. She felt the albino turn his head around to where she was facing. He looked at the exotic boy's fallen body.

Ryou's overly pale face had small droplets of ice frozen on it. Water drops were threatening to fall from the edge of the boy's bony nose. His innocent expression narrowed in thought.

"He will be." He simply said in a voice that was hoarse from not been used for a long time. Serenity nodded lightly and turned her head fully into Ryou's chest, seeking warmth from the simplest of sources. The guilt and anxiety was more than she could bear.

This indicated the end of the conversation, as Ryou squeezed her body reassuringly to emphasize his point. He couldn't even imagine what went through the girl's mind at a moment like this, and so he chose to give her comfort in the simplest of ways.

Serenity's eyes started to shut slowly. How many more people would get hurt in crazy adventure? How much more blood would her friends have to shed? Kaiba was hauling them to his secret Base, which was full of his body-builder goons and was equipped with the security systems of a governmental fortress. They were only hours away from what could be considered their deaths, and all they could do was sit there and sleep in the cold.

Well, at least they could sleep in the arms of the one's they loved.

With that last thought, Serenity sunk into a dreamless sleep of ice.

Serenity and Ryou didn't wake up as calmly as they would have wanted. Rough tugging on their arms and shaking on their shoulders awoke them. Loud shouts and noises echoed all around their freshly regained sense of hearing.

Ryou felt himself be hauled to a standing position against his will, while Serenity was forcefully pried out of his embrace. All the while, deafening crashes were heard all around. Eventually, Ryou's eyes cracked open, only to be momentarily blinded by the sudden light.

"Take the broad with the others!" a loud order boomed around. Ryou's eyes widened and he tried to focus his sight. Broad? What broad? It couldn't possibly mean his beloved girl, right?

Finally, Ryou could see what was going on around him. Tall men wearing black suits and oxygen masks were running all around the shattered bridge of the spaceship. He tried to understand why he felt there was something on his face, and it finally dawned on him that he was also wearing a mask. But why?

Something grasped his arm tightly and squeezed mercilessly, so Ryou yelled in reflex. His entire body felt frigidly stiff, and someone trying to squeeze was not a good idea.

"Shut up, you little tramp! Here, Kyle! Take this snowball with you!" a voice shouted on Ryou's left. Things finally came into focus and Ryou realized what was going on.

His whole body felt numb and frozen from the now arctic atmosphere, while the mask of oxygen provided him with normal, warm air. There was one of those black-clad men holding him, while others were moving around the bridge, tinkering with machines and seemingly searching for something.

Ryou caught a fleeting look of what looked like Kenji and Taichi being ushered out, accompanied by two tall goons. All around him was mist –probably due to the cold atmosphere- and all lighting was deep blue, so it was very hard to see.

"What-" Ryou started saying, but never got the chance to finish that statement.

"I said shut up!" the man who was holding him shouted and hit the back of Ryou's neck with unbelievable force. Ryou's already frozen body was not inclined to endure such hits, thus the albino boy dropped numbly on the ground, only to be supported by the attacker's death-grip.

"Kyle, get this bitch out of my sight!" the person said, and Ryou felt himself be literally thrown to the other end of the room. He distantly acknowledged that he was being treated like a ragged doll and there was nothing he could do about it.

He felt his chest hit something solid and grudgingly realized that a tall man was standing in front of him. It was probably 'Kyle' the sturdiest and tallest man Ryou had seen in all his unnaturally long life.

"Take them out!" Somebody shouted from somewhere and Ryou had no time to turn around. Instead, all he knew was a screeching pain on his head. He realized Kyle was there, pulling him by his hair and nearly lifting him up.

"Come on!" the Kyle-goon shouted and literally dragged Ryou forward by his silver locks. It was all a bit confusing for Ryou and he couldn't help but think about what he kept hearing. 'Take them out!' a guard had said...take who out? Where there others? Were his friends okay? What about Serena? What had happened to her?

Ryou promptly ignored the fact that he was being roughly shoved around, and took some time to make valiant thoughts. 'I'll break the bones of anyone who dares to touch one hair of her head!' the angelic boy thought.

Unfortunately, that courageous trail of thought was broken by a loud cry.

"MOVE OUT!" a gorilla-wide man yelled, as he loaded something that looked like a sniper rifle. Ryou gulped involuntarily. Guns? They still had guns in this century? Of course...how could humanity EXIST without guns...?

Ryou didn't even want to think about what 25th century guns could probably do. He felt a persistent push on his back, which was forcing him to move quicker. Suspiciously, the thing that was pushing him was very pointy...the edge of a gun, probably.

He was forced to walk out of the bridge and into the corridor. The walls around him were covered in ice and frost. Ryou shivered from the cold and tried to focus on the warm air he was breathing from the mask.

Suddenly, he felt something –someone, rather- grab his arm and haul him forward. He hardly found his balance before he collided with somebody else. Slowly and very tiredly, Ryou raised his head to look at the person in front of him.

The person didn't look half as tall as all the others, and Ryou could clearly recognize an outline of long, blonde hair.

"Marik!" Ryou shouted from beneath the mask, only to receive an inhumane hit on his back.

"No talking, poppet!" somebody on Ryou's side ordered and Ryou resisted the urge to shout that he was tired of being addressed as a girl –even in cursing.

The guards behind surprisingly didn't shove him forward to walk...they were obviously waiting for the other goons to come out of the bridge, so the whole unit could move out as one.

Ryou took what little time he had to merely look at Marik, who was standing next to him a bit limply. The blonde boy's once golden hair had turned into a dull dark blonde. His lavender eyes were glazed over with cyan blue, and his now sickly tanned skin was adorned with frost. The mask on his face concealed most of his features, but Ryou could sense his friend's pained expression.

Ryou eyed Marik's body. The little 'magic' bags that gave warmth to his torso had long since blacked out and now stood as simple stickers on his skin. As for his black clothes... They were torn, bloodied and completely dirty with grease and ice.

The albino really wanted to talk to his friend, but knew that someone would hit him as soon as he opened his mouth. He settled for giving Marik a compassionate glance. Marik didn't really seem to acknowledge it, and continued to stare morbidly at the distance. Ryou was really worried by now.

Suddenly, the white-haired boy recognized a shout in the mayhem. It was that man again- Kyle.

"Put him with the others! You idiots! I can't believe you almost missed him!"

Ryou was shoved to the side as somebody's body was pushed on his. The albino's eyes widened considerably, as he clearly saw a spiky mop of hair stand out from the mist. Yugi!

"Yugi!" Ryou whispered in glee as he watched Yugi recover from the fall and stand up shakily. Yugi's huge, wide eyes turned to Ryou and he gasped.

"Ryou!" Yugi shouted and Ryou winced. He hoped no one had noticed them talking, but no such luck.

"I SAID SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE MUTT!" a nearby goon shouted, and slapped the back of Yugi's head harshly. The spiky haired boy flinched and shook his head to recover. He had been taught his lesson, now.

Yugi and Ryou eyed each other. They were visibly cold, tired and wearing masks. Frosty water seemed to be slipping down Yugi's face and spiky hair, while his leather clothing kept sticking on his body.

"Are you okay?" Ryou whispered.

"Yeah...they took Tea away..." Yugi whispered back quite miserably.

"I know...and Serenity. Do you think they're okay? What about the others?" Ryou made sure to keep his voice in a low mutter so as not to annoy the awaiting goons.

"I don't know..." Yugi audibly sighed and then turned to look behind Ryou "What's wrong with Marik?"

Ryou understood what Yugi was talking about. Marik had not spoken or moved at all...he seemed to be in a comatose state of living dead. The albino slowly turned to look at his blonde friend and felt a new surge of worry assault him at seeing Marik's blank expression.

"He won't hold on in the cold much longer...He needs heat soon..." Ryou started saying and Yugi nodded anxiously from behind, his kind eyes widening with worry.

Suddenly, Ryou and Yugi heard bangs and crashes from behind, and turned to see new guards come out of the bridge.

At the sight of their companions, the ones who were guarding the three friends started to move. Yugi's harmless eyes widened considerably when he felt a rifle shove him forward. Ryou's generally innocent expression was reflecting worry and tiredness. And Marik...he just moved lifelessly taking one step after another. He allowed himself to be pushed forward by the point of the gun behind him.

And so they walked silently down the corridors of the ship, meeting destroyed rooms and machinery everywhere. Ryou could almost feel Yugi's crushed disappointment as the thin, sweet boy watched his dreams shatter in front of his eyes, along with his beloved ship.

"It's okay...Yugi..." Ryou tried to give comfort, but realized he had none to give. Perhaps it was because he felt helpless himself. Without Serenity to believe in him...without Marik to help him...he just felt deserted in this unknown dimension. What was his purpose of living any more? He was left alone in an unknown world, with no friends and with many foes...

Slowly, Ryou witnessed his dreams of a peaceful life crumble in front of him. Like Yugi's ship, all that was left was ruins.

Yugi nodded silently at Ryou's effort to help him, and tried to seem courageous at a time of peril. After all, he still had to find Tea and save her. He still had to visit other planets. He still had a life to live...that couldn't die so easily.

"We have to find the others." Yugi stated finally, his determined tone surprising Ryou. Just then, the albino boy grinned wisely behind the mask.

'I guess that's why they call you Game King, Yugi...' he thought 'You just never give up.'

Ryou smiled. That was the right thing to do. He turned to his right, where Marik was walking numbly. 'I'll help you Marik...I'll get Serena back...' the angelic boy thought, and nodded determinedly at his own thoughts.

Yugi and Ryou were lost in their own musings, so they didn't notice they were being dragged towards the ship exit. At some point, Ryou numbly realized that the passenger ramp had been lowered, and that they were being ushered out of the ship.

Yugi and Ryou gasped suddenly, when a wave of heat hit them full-force. Their ship had been frozen and ghastly, and once they stepped away from the ramp and onto a lean metal floor, the atmosphere felt immensely better.

Ryou turned to his right hurriedly. Marik was walking there, still lifeless. The albino shook his head dejectedly and turned to his left. Yugi was staring around in wonder, his eyes wide and eager. Ryou vaguely registered that Yugi had found his way to explore outer space, even though under the worst of circumstances. It was probably the first time for the Game King to see such things for real.

And Ryou honestly couldn't blame him, because the place they were in was truly wondrous. A long and slim corridor spread endlessly before them. The walls and ceiling of the corridor seemed to be made of glass, and Ryou could see the sky of space spread above their heads.

Adorning the vision of black starry skies was a huge, white, intricate construction. It was floating right in front of them and Ryou finally understood that the corridor they were walking on led to the entrance of the fortress.

Ryou had an uncanny feeling he had seen such things before in the cinema of the 21st century. He had seen movies with huge space buses or space colonies...but he'd never dared to imagine he'd see one for real.

Marik seemed completely indifferent about this change of events, and continued to stagger pathetically, in opposition to Yugi, who stared upwards in wonder and only wished he could be allowed to marvel at the huge ship-planet freely.

Ryou tried to rip his gaze away from the Base, but he just couldn't. Shining and huge, it was flying in the middle of space. Little lights and windows adorned every inch of it, and Ryou was curious whether those movie directors of the 21st century had had the ability to see the future.

He was just too old for this.

"Hurry, mutt!!" some goon shouted from the back and pressed his gun roughly on Ryou's back. Ooops...it seems he'd been too carried away in his mental rant to notice he'd slowed his pace.

After a great amount of speechless walking, Ryou had decided to forget any coherent thought and just focus on staring at the Base, which seemed to get closer with every step they made.

Occasionally, some guard would bark at the three friends for being too slow and apart from that, Ryou and Yugi had to endure all the silly chats between the guards and the pathetic jokes they said.

Ryou felt the ice on his hair and clothes melt to water from the sudden heat. He rejoiced in the wonderful feeling of normal temperature and temporarily forgot about his predicament. That is, until he found himself suddenly looking straight at a huge, sickly white door.

They had reached the Base. Yugi felt his heart pounding in his chest and the anxiety almost overwhelmed him. He watched, frozen on the spot, as a black-suited guard walked up to the entrance.

He took out an ID card of some sort and pushed it forcefully in a pedestal, which Yugi hadn't noticed before. At once, a computer voice broke out.

"Welcome to KaibaCorp Kleria Base. Have a nice stay." The computer said in a boring girlish voice. The guard in front of the door motioned for the others to follow, and Ryou found himself being forced forward yet again.

When the white doors parted, the first guard walked inside, accompanied hurriedly by the rest of the group. Yugi dazedly noted that there probably were more than twenty goons surrounding them.

The heat that greeted the near-frozen boys was almost unbearable when they walked in the Base. Ryou's eyes widened as he watched all kinds of people walk around quickly -this looked like the spaceport in Mercury. The place was teeming with people who were buzzing ceaselessly in queues.

Yugi's eyes had widened to the size of saucers. He had never seen anything like this. He saw blue-headed aliens talk in a weird language, he saw a girl dressed in a long gown sauntering around, he saw a person wearing a green turban holding a cobra...he even saw a group of little boys eating ice-cream and shouting at some point.

Ryou was equally surprised to see all this, the sudden vivacity hitting his broken body. 'They still have ice-cream and cobras in this century?!' the albino thought incredulously. He turned to check on Marik, only to see that the blonde boy had his eyes shut and his eyebrows furrowed, Well, at least it was a change...

Ryou thought about trying to speak to Marik but decided against it. Who knew what these cruel guards would do if they saw him. Besides, Marik seemed to need some time to adjust to the heat. Bathed in the sudden bright light, Ryou realized just how bad their condition was.

Torn clothes, bloody bodies, puffy eyes, swollen lips and ice melting on their hair. How had they survived? The sudden liveliness of the Base reminded Bakura what they had all gone through.

They had been alone in the cold space, stuck and abandoned in a dark ghost-ship, with only a cargo ship to drag them to the hands of Kaiba. Ryou's eyes had adjusted so much to the blue light that he found it magnificent to be able to see properly again.

Wait a minute! Wasn't KaibaCorp a medical company? What were all these people doing in the Base? Ryou turned around to Marik again in desperate search for answers. Marik was the one who usually helped in these cases...but the blonde's face was still blank and unmoving. Maybe this whole sudden switch in temperature was not faring too well with his still-recovering body.

Yugi noted that they had been standing in front of the entrance for more than five minutes. What were these guards planning? From the corner of his eye, he saw the goon that he supposed was the leader talk on a walkie-talkie-like contraption.

So that was it...he was getting orders...Yugi strained his ears to listen to the guard's conversation.

"Yes sir...I see. Yes sir...Uh-huh. I understand...Roger that, Kaiba sir." The guard nodded dismissively "Yes" he finished and pressed a button to end the transmission. He turned to a man behind him.

Yugi could see the leader's aggravated scowl. He was probably sporting an irritated expression behind that mask...

"Kaiba says take them to the cells in the bottom of the Base...man, I swear I'd kill that guy if I could..." The leader turned his scowl at the three friends "Their friends are getting carried there right now..." he turned back to the other goon. "Well, go! What are you waiting for? Move!"

It didn't take much more for the other guard to catch the drift. He immediately turned to his other partners and motioned for them to follow him as he turned to walk behind the leader.

Yugi and Ryou didn't need a gun to remind them they had to walk...they were much to excited about what they'd just heard. Their friends were okay!? They were getting carried in some cells? Did that mean they'd see them again?

"Man, I can't believe I get paid to do this shit..." one of the guards muttered darkly from behind Ryou.

Marik was as unmoving as ever and only the push of a rifle could make him walk. Ryou sighed as he watched the once lithe boy move so robotically. What on earth was wrong with him?! His wounds had been completely healed and his blood should have regenerated by now...so what was the problem?

Yugi followed the guards eagerly, hoping to see the others. Ryou was also impatient to see Serena and his other friends, but he had to wait for Marik, who was pushed and shoved roughly by the guards. He truly wanted to reach a hand and help the boy, but he knew that some guard would hurt him if he even tried.

Thus, the company of guards moved through the crowd, receiving inquisitive glances from many people.

"KC (KaibaCorp) business, people. Go back to what you were doing." A goon would shout periodically. Ryou was a bit puzzled. Couldn't all these people see that someone was being dragged to their murder? What was going on?

He heard a smirk on his right and froze his thoughts. Slowly and with trepidation, he turned around to see the hurt violet eyes blink back at him. Marik was looking at him, and he seemed thoroughly aggravated.

"T-they probably think we're murderers or thieves..." Marik started with a low, impending tone. His smirk couldn't be seen under the mask but it was surely there "Kaiba has probably made sure we are wanted by the government for some murder...maybe Ayano and Suzuki..." a small spasm shot through Marik's body as he muttered "...you see...Kaiba has connections in the senate..."

Ryou shivered involuntarily. Marik's tone did that to ? What kind of connections? Did this mean that their happy group of ten would be wanted by every authority in the galaxy –providing they survived Kaiba, of course...

Suddenly, Ryou realized Marik was talking. Did that mean he was okay? The blonde boy still didn't look very healthy, but was at least walking normally. Ryou thought about asking something, but Marik unexpectedly continued.

"...Kaiba has probably convinced the government that he's in some sort of holy crusade to avenge his dead scientists..." Marik coughed pathetically but continued nonetheless "That sounds just like him...He's turned the whole world against us, I bet..."

By now, Yugi was listening as well while walking. The spiky-haired boy couldn't help but ask "Where are they taking us?"

Ryou could almost feel Marik's ironic grin. "Where do you think?" he gave a short, choked laugh "this is a KC building...so it would surely include torture halls...they're taking us to the dungeons in the bottom of the Base..." Marik gave a dirty, dark look "The ones nobody knows about..." he continued "Kaiba will kill us there, and say it happened while he was hunting us down..."

Ryou stared simply at his recently recovered friend "how can you be so sure of this, Marik?"

Marik's eyes glazed over in a tired manner "I understand how he thinks." The boy simply stated. For some reason, it made sense to Ryou...For all Ryou had seen, Marik was the only one who could ever remotely control Kaiba. It was logical for Marik to relate to Kaiba's way of thinking.

People from around kept throwing them dirty looks, and as time went by, Marik's words seemed to make more and more sense to Ryou...Kaiba HAD turned the world against them.

"But what about me?" Yugi suddenly asked "Why does he want me? How could he have time to turn everyone against ME?"

Marik smirked loudly "He has all the time he needs to destroy your life as we speak...He will hunt you down...you and everyone that has anything to do with you...and he will turn you all into scientific gore experiments..." he murmured and Yugi took a terrified expression "As for your other question..." Marik started "...he wants you because you helped us."

Ryou gasped. It was their fault? Everything was their fault? Yugi silently nodded from his side, not wanting to know anything else. Ryou remotely wondered whether Yugi regretted helping them or not...even if he did, it was too late now. Kaiba would kill him anyway, just for the aggravation he caused.

The three friends lapsed into silence after that and watched the guards lead them to the doors of an elevator. When they went inside, surrounded by a dozen goons, Ryou heard the leader say 'lower levels'.

Immediately, the elevator started to move downwards and Ryou was eerily reminded of his latest, unfortunate elevator experience in the Yango tower. He focused on Marik, who seemed to look dead again –but Ryou was not fooled. Beneath that limp façade, Marik's brain was functioning ceaselessly, obviously observing and processing everything it came across.

Marik's theory of Kaiba's plan had been proven right, so far. They were going to the 'lower levels' -that probably meant the dungeons. The prospect of dying in a 25th century catacomb complex was nearly killing Ryou.

Moments passed in absolute silence, broken only by the periodical talking of guards. Ryou glanced at Marik. The boy's body was wrinkled and broken, and his proud shoulders had slumped into a sad pose. The only thing that escaped the image of helplessness was Marik's face. Ryou believed there was an ironic and sort of crazed grin on Marik's hidden lips. The only thing that could be seen was his disappointed and quite sarcastic gaze. What was he thinking anyway?

A sudden click echoed and the computer voice boomed around.

"Lower Levels. Only Level-A personnel allowed." The computer voice said and Ryou felt confused. Level A personnel? Beside him, Marik smirked yet again.

Everything soon made sense, as the elevator doors parted. A metallic corridor greeted them, in the end of which stood a tall metallic door. A sign was placed all over the metal:

'RESRICTED AREA. ONLY SECURITY LEVEL-A PERMITTED.' It wrote.

It suddenly dawned on Ryou. 'The dungeons nobody knows about!' he thought 'People think this is some sort of hangar for KaibaCorp, while Kaiba keeps his illegal prisons here! Security Level A...is that what we call these goons now?'

Ryou's suspicions were justified, when the leader of the guards took out the same ID card he had used earlier for the entrance door. He plunged it in the system of the door and a soft sound was heard.

"Access granted." The digital voice stated, as the doors slid open. A dark, green-lit corridor greeted them after that. Four guards walked in front of the three friends and all others followed after.

The surroundings were already reminding Ryou of some sick, deserted clinic. On the albino's left, Yugi was walking wide eyed, impressed and frightened at the same time. In contrast, Marik allowed himself to be pushed by the guard's rifle once again, his limp body coming in opposition with his ever-watchful eyes.

They progressed down one corridor after another, getting lost in the maze of green lights and intricate passageways. They reached a fork and took a left. Then, they took a right on the next fork.

Ryou tried to remember the way out, but realized it was useless –and hopeless. There was no way one could find his way in this labyrinth, except if they had a map.

Yugi and Ryou were getting desperate and very tired from all this walking. They knew that they could never protest of course, but the sense of leaving civilization behind in combination to getting lost in a KC maze was having a dangerous impact on their sense of right and wrong.

"Where are you taking us?" Ryou inquired quite boldly, only to receive the inevitable hit on his back.

"Shut your mouth, dolly!" the guard behind him roared. Ryou felt his patience fuel out, something very rare and very dangerous to happen. For the solid patience of an old man to wear out totally, it meant that something very serious was going on.

Ryou's tiredness in combination with his aching body and his aggravation about being called a girl more than once was threatening to break lose in a chain reaction.

-You remind me of myself, Brightside- a voice suddenly echoed inside Ryou's very soul –I used to try and restrain it too...-

Ryou inwardly glared / You mean you tried to restrain it BEFORE you used my body to burn down that mall in the 21st century? Since when did you start talking to me, anyway? I never heard you answering when I called you all those times before! All you ever do is jump out, take over my body and start destroying things! I'm so tired of you! Tired! / Ryou actually sounded angry, and Bakura enjoyed hearing his other self try to vent out his fury on him.

-Feels good, doesn't it? The way your blood pumps in your ears...The way your heartbeat quickens and hurts...The way you want to strangle something...the way you want to hear them all screeeeeam....- Bakura said in a somewhat high tone, trying to infuriate Ryou furthermore.

/Silence you demon! Get out of my mind! / Ryou shouted inwardly. He was about to say more but was broken out of his trance by a loud squeal.

His head snapped up in attention to greet the sight of a group of people approaching their own. It was another group of guards, only they were surrounding and pointing their weapons at what looked like...Lena, Rika and Serenity!

Lena was the one who had squealed previously, and now the guards were shouting at her and trying to silence her at all costs. Next to her, Rika was screeching like a banshee upon seeing the group of Yugi, Ryou and Marik.

Ryou's eyes widened as he stared at Serenity, her disheveled appearance and tired eyes gawking at him.

"SERENA!" he suddenly shouted, but immediately, the back of a gun collided with his spine harder than any other time. He felt his body fall, only to be supported by Yugi's arms.

"Hold on..." the boy muttered as he glared at the guard who had hurt Ryou. Naturally, the guard couldn't care less. Marik looked willing to help his friends, but the spasms running over his body were not helping.

Ryou stood up shakily and looked at Serenity, who was now looking at him with pleading eyes. If only there was something he could do...He saw those bastards pointing their guns at her, and felt his ire flow deep into his veins. If they dared touch one hair of her head...if they dared to touch one of those silky auburn bands...he would make sure they would never live to tell the tale.

She was staring at him, her face a mask of tears. The oxygen mask that covered her face could not hide her expression of pure desperation, mirrored greatly in her terrorized hazel eyes.

Ryou vaguely registered that the group of the girls was standing on the other side of the fork. They walked closer and soon the two groups were facing each other. Ryou vaguely registered that the distance between him and Serenity was a mere five feet...She seemed to notice that too and kept her teary eyes stuck on the angel boy, as though afraid that if she simply blinked, he would fade away to oblivion. Marik watched the whole wordless interaction with tired, broken eyes.

When Rika and Lena's horrified faces fell on the blonde boy, they both gasped in sorrow. Marik smirked. He could only imagine the image he portrayed right then. Oh well, hygiene would have to wait...he had to save his life first. Where had his handsome face gone, now? Where was his lithe, beautiful body? Maybe Kaiba was right...maybe he was a loser. Even Bakura never seemed to acknowledge that he was worth something...and he had tried so hard...

The guard who was standing in front of Rika smirked at the leader of Ryou's group.

"How's it goin'? What did Kaiba tell you?" he asked.

The man in front of Yugi chuckled harshly "You mean what Kaiba barked at me?"

The guard in front of Rika shook his head "Watch it, Jay...there are surveillance cameras everywhere, remember?"

Although Ryou couldn't see Jay's face since he was standing behind the man, he knew there was a thunderstruck expression stuck on it.

"Anyway" Jay finally said "We're taking them to Section 9. How about you?"

"Well..." the man in front of the girls started "He told us to put them all in separate cells...But I guess we'll just put these three together."

Jay nodded dumbly "Cool. We'll do the same then..." At this, Marik gave an unseen and very unnerving smirk.

"Yeah...we'll just take them in Section 5. The others have already gotten rid of their group..."

Yugi's attention bucked up. There was another group? Tea and the missing people were probably there! So everyone was okay –for now. But he still had to find Tea...maybe these idiots would mention where she was! Yugi strained his ears to listen carefully, but was disappointed by what he heard.

"Cool, man. So are we on for tonight? You know, I haven't had a good drink in ages." Jay said and Lena rolled her eyes from behind the other guard.

"Sure. Okay, I'll just get rid of these chicks and meet you in the bar."

Ryou felt furious at hearing Serenity being called a chick from this brainless body-builder. He watched Jay nod in apprehension and motion for the group to move. Ryou was forced to walk again...His eyes were stuck on Serenity's, trying to give her the best amount of comfort he could. He watched her fearful orbs observe him from afar, until a guard grabbed her arm and thrust her forward.

Ryou stopped dead in his tracks and watched her get shoved by the goon. He promptly ignored the gun that poked him from the back and continued to glare daggers at the man who had dared to touch his girl.

-How would it feel to snap his neck, Brightside? Don't you just want to hear that satisfying 'crack'?- the infuriating voice in his mind suggested. Ryou felt guilty for fantasizing about Bakura's description of himself killing that goon. Maybe Bakura could be considered his satanic apparition, after all...

It didn't really dawn on him that he had to move, until he heard the click of a gun holster holler next to his ear. Begrudgingly, he realized that someone was aiming a gun at his temple...he watched the goon's heartless black eyes constrict in anger, the rest of his expression hidden behind the mask.

"Move." He simply stated, and Ryou knew that he had no choice. He sighed and turned to walk forward slowly, but his eyes turned back to Serenity's retreating figure.

Not until he had completely lost sight of her did he refocus his gaze on his surroundings. Marik was still walking limply by his side, while Yugi seemed anxious for some reason. Ryou could only guess it had to do with Tea.

There was no time to ask, however, seeing as the leader of the guards –Jay- stopped walking suddenly and took a right turn in an unknown corridor. Ryou took a few seconds to acknowledge that there was an inscription carved on metal at the top of the corridor entrance. 'Sector 9' it wrote, and Ryou knew that their doom was close now.

After a few turns and many minutes of walking, Jay came to another halt. They had reached what looked like an empty platform, which didn't lead anywhere. Ryou idly wondered if they had taken a wrong turn and ended up in an empty room...

He was shaken out of his musings by a rough push on his back. The guard behind him dragged him into the empty platform and simply let him stand there. Ryou was a bit confused as to what was happening when he saw all the guards back away from him and aim their guns directly at his head. Oh no! Was this the end? He couldn't die like this!

Yugi was also pushed into the empty room next to Ryou. A loud shout echoed, as a tall guard cursed at Marik for not moving. With a cannibalistic movement, one of the guards took hold of Marik's bleach blonde hair near the routes and tugged on it roughly. The poor, thin boy yelled in pain as the guard used his hair to literally throw him in the platform. The once lithe boy's powerless body fell soundly on the wall of the room and slid downwards to the floor like a ragged doll. Yugi's eyes widened instantly as he rushed to Marik's side, followed closely by Ryou.

Jay smirked loudly. "Well, enjoy your stay, "he started with a much too pleased tone "Mr. Kaiba will be with you shortly." He imitated the voice of a computer. At this stupid imitation, all the guards broke out to cruel laughter.

One by one, Ryou watched them all leave the empty room. The last guard that had walked out reached the wall of the entrance doorway and inserted his Level A card in a slot that Ryou hadn't noticed coming in.

Instantly, electric blue beams formed a barrier of bars over the door. The guard turned to the now imprisoned ones and smirked as he gazed at the albino.

"Goodbye, poppet..." he leered, and finally turned around to leave. Ryou's hands had taken a death-grip on Marik's arm and he hated himself for his own behavior. Maybe if it weren't for the fact that he just realized they were locked in a cell, alone, with Serenity nowhere to be found and with Marik seemingly unconscious...he would be calmer.

Right then, however, he could think of nothing except his own desperation. What about Serenity? What had happened to her? What would he do without her? What would his purpose in survival be if she wasn't there by his side?

Unconsciously, Ryou had plunged his head in his palms, trying to steady his rarely disturbed nerves. All this tension in his mind was broken by a sudden, low sound.

Ryou curiously turned at Marik's dead form, only to see the boy's head hanging loosely downwards. His now messed-up strands of blonde hair hid his face from view. The slow, rhythmic shaking of Marik's shoulders only verified Ryou's initial suspicions.

Marik was laughing –but it could only be described as maniacal, crazed laughter. It started as a low giggle but it was getting louder by the moment.

Yugi, who had been supporting Marik's body, slowly backed away with a somewhat horrified expression...and Ryou couldn't blame him. Marik did look and sound quite freaky right then.

Marik was now laughing very loudly, receiving strange glances from the other occupants of the room. His laughter resembled that of an evil gangster who has just succeeded in a flawless scheme.

The blonde boy's shoulders were shaking violently and he had to gasp for air in order to continue his hysterical guffawing. He rolled over and lay completely to the floor occasionally holding his sides in order to laugh harder.

At seeing this creepy break out of madness, Ryou didn't know how to react. He felt an uneasy surge of worry run through his body and thus learned Bakura's feelings about this whole situation.

Marik started hitting his fists on the floor, literally laughing his guts out. Ryou decided he'd had enough. He eyed Yugi –who had backed away profusely- and finally lunged on Marik. Obviously, other people were having a harder time dealing with problems than Ryou himself, so he'd just have to leave his own predicaments aside for a while.

Ryou grabbed Marik's shoulders from behind and flipped the boy to lie on his back, only to greet the sight of eyes full of tears from laughter. Ryou hurriedly tore away the oxygen mask that covered Marik's features. He mimicked the movement to take his own mask off, and Yugi also removed his own from nearby.

Marik's eyes snapped open at sensing Ryou, and Ryou gasped at what he saw.

Marik's eyes emitted hysteria in every direction, since the once proud lavender had totally converted to deep blue. His orbs glanced frantically around at the surroundings as he kept his unhealthy laughing. The blonde boy grasped Ryou's hands that were shaking his body and squeezed them tightly.

Ryou's eyes widened and he started shaking Marik harder. He was overly worried by now. Was Marik crazy? He could sense his Darkside' s unusual concern flow through their link. It only made things worse for the now desperate albino.

"Marik! MARIK! Hold on in there!! Marik!" Ryou started shouting, which only served for Marik to laugh harder and louder, obviously trying to block out the shouting.

Ryou's innocent eyes narrowed. He pulled his hands away from Marik's body and grabbed the boy's face instead. He tried to steady it from thrashing around in hysteria but couldn't succeed. He could feel Marik's mind melt under his grasp, the blonde's whole body releasing its final energy.

"MARIK! LISTEN TO ME! MARIK!!" Ryou now screamed, his voice echoing all around the empty cell, but to now avail. Marik just couldn't stop.

"Marik! Please! Shake it off! What would Serena say? MARIK!" Ryou kept trying, now frantically hitting the blonde's chest. Finally, there came some response...between hysteric guffawing, Marik managed to choke out a few words.

"AHAHAHAHA!! He-...AHAHA!! HE'S GONNA...!! AHAHAHA!!!!" he shouted. Ryou's tired eyes mirrored his confusion.

"Marik! What are you saying? Marik can you hear me?!!!" Ryou asked loudly, trying to get through. The albino's hands were settled lightly on the blonde's chest, trying to calm him. Innocent brown eyes narrowed in effort. From a few feet nearby, Yugi was watching the scene unfold intently, wondering if he could do anything to help.

"Marik!" Ryou pathetically started "PLEASE! I can't go on all alone...Marik!!" his innocent eyes cried out his misery, but the crazed one was too far in hysteria to notice.

Suddenly, and to the blonde's total ignorance, the ring on the inside of Ryou's shirt started glowing eerily. From the side, Yugi's eyes widened. It was that spirit again! It was Ryou's secret spirit!! Just like his own...

Yugi watched in silent fascination as a thick mist covered Ryou's body, unseen by the maddened Marik. The spiky-haired boy saw Ryou Bakura's hair suddenly shoot up in demonic spikes. The muscles on the boy's arms became rippling and tight, and his eyes...Yugi noticed the change for the first time...the innocent brown had sunk into blood red.

"Oh...my...God..." Yugi whispered, as he watched Ryou's expression turn from worried to furious.

Suddenly, the hands that were placed softly on Marik's chest, rolled into fists around the black fabric. Dazed Marik distantly registered that Ryou's grip had tightened considerably. The next thing the laughing blonde boy knew, was that he was shoved on the wall violently.

He felt the fists that were holding his shirt tighten their hold and slowly lift him off the ground. A lean body suddenly pressed against his, squeezing him on the wall...yet he just couldn't stop laughing.

"Shut it up, bitch! Is that all you're worth? You can die for all I care! But what about us?" a ballistic voice literally screamed. Yugi jumped up from fear, and felt goose bumps run over his skin.

Marik's incessant laughing didn't even waver. His violet eyes, however, opened to slits and recognized the person who was shouting at him.

"Ahahahhaha!!! BAKURA!!AHAHAHA!!! D-Don't you see...HAHAHAHAHA!!! It's no use!!!"

The frantic red eyes glowed demonically and Yugi almost thought that blood would come running out of them –so strong was the power inside them.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!! IS THAT IT??? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE WORTH!!!? AND I WHO THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THAT!! YOU'RE JUST A WIMP AFTER ALL!!" Bakura screeched so loudly that he felt Ryou's body's voice cords hurt from the volume.

Abruptly, and most awkwardly, the laughing ceased. It was so sudden, so unbelievably sudden, that Yugi didn't know how to react. Obviously, neither did Bakura. He just settled on watching Marik's next antics. It came as a surprise when he was forced away from Marik's body and he staggered backwards a bit.

This time, it was his pale body that was pushed against the wall. Towering above him was no other than the exotic boy, Marik, who looked less handsome and more dangerous at this point. Marik's piercing lavender stare had returned so unexpectedly that Bakura didn't know how to explain it. The one moment the boy's eyes were deep violet, and now they were shining lilac. How could that be?

Bakura froze as Marik's now overly serious stare penetrated his skull. The demon felt cold fingers wrap around his neck threateningly but couldn't bring himself to move. He couldn't even blink. Normally, he would've writhed and shouted and bit Marik's face, but now all he could do was stare in a face of shock.

Marik's threatening fingers closed tighter around the albino's neck, his sudden silence being more impending than his crazy laughter. He grasped Bakura's throat and used it to squeeze the boy's head against the wall. After he used Bakura's neck to bang the albino's head on the metal, he let his hand slip away from the boy's throat. Now, he held Bakura suspended on the wall by a fist on his shirt.

Bakura flinched at the various violations and watched, frozen, as Marik brought his glaring face in a distance so close to Bakura's that their noses almost touched.

"You fool" Marik finally hissed in Bakura's wide bloodstained eyes "Kaiba will kill us. He'll kill us all. Nothing can stop him. There is no escape. We are all going to die...and there is nothing you can do about it. It doesn't matter how angry you are, Bakura. You can't change the facts. All you ever do is shout and yell and glare...but you still can't change the facts, no matter how angry you are."

With those words, Marik slipped away from Bakura's body. He turned around and walked all the way to the electric barrier. He crossed his arms and glared at the distance –his body curiously revived from its comatose state.

Yugi was observing the whole exchange in a state of disbelief. Not only Ryou Bakura had a secret spirit...but Marik seemed to know this as well? How could Marik distinguish the real Ryou from the spirit inside him? He thought he should ask about it, but decided against it when he saw the state Bakura and Marik were in.

Bakura was left on the wall, his eyes wide and unblinking. He didn't seem to be breathing and Yugi started to worry about his health. Suddenly, as though an electric burst had shot through the albino's spine, Bakura's body jerked into life. His eyes blinked and narrowed to disgusting red slits. Slowly and inaudibly, he kicked away from the wall. He took a couple of steps forward and stopped again.

Now, he was facing Marik's back. The silver-haired demon raised an accusing hand at Marik. To Yugi's utter shock, the hand was trembling furiously.

"You're wrong Mariku!" he shouted. At this, the blonde-haired boy raised an unseen eyebrow. He turned around to meet the most intense face he had ever seen.

Bakura's form was shaking- but not in fury. The albino's eyes reflected sorrow and misery, his entire being crying out for salvation. Marik's crossed arms fell limply at his sides, as he stared at the boy in front of him.

Bakura's eyes narrowed. "Not all of us will die..." He whispered a bit too low, which only added to the effect of trepidation in his eyes. Marik could only stare as the demon's eyes glazed over in pain and eternal suffering. The shaking hand that was pointing at Marik in accusation started shaking harder.

Yugi was motionless and he held his breath in utter trepidation.

"Not all of us will die..." Bakura repeated, this time a little louder. Abruptly he reached in his shirt and took something out –something well hidden. Yugi saw the outline of a golden necklace, a distantly wondered if it had to do anything with Ryou's spirit –just as the pyramid had to do with his own dark self.

Bakura pulled the thread of the ring over his neck with one fluid movement. Marik didn't know what to say or what to do, so he just stared.

Bakura looked at the ring in a broken manner and squeezed it tightly in his palm. Marik saw the long dangling edges of the pendant rip through Bakura's flesh as he squeezed, but the demon paid no heed. Suddenly, and with absolutely no warning, the white-haired boy threw the golden ring at Marik's direction, aiming directly at Marik's chest. The blonde boy realized what was happening and caught the ring the moment it hit his body. He looked at it and then at Bakura questioningly.

Bakura seemed utterly miserable –that was the only way to describe it. His bloodshot eyes narrowed.

"Don't you get it? I'm not going to die!! I can't die!" Bakura screamed desperately "If Kaiba kills all of you, he still won't kill me! No matter what, I'm gonna live! I'm gonna live forever!"

Bakura grabbed his head in both arms "I can't die! I'll never freakin' die! Do you know what will happen to me, if you die? DO YOU?" he asked with glaring eyes.

Marik was staring, speechless and frozen. What to say?

"I'm gonna live –that's what! I'm gonna go on and on and on, while you'll just be gone and over with! And I'll just be left here to rot, alone and immortal! I never asked for it!! THEY DID THIS TO ME!! THEY CURSED ME IN THAT THING!!" he screeched at the top of his lungs while pointing at the ring in Marik's hands in a disgusted manner. He turned an earth-shattering glare to the blonde boy "So don't you friggin' tell me about anger!! DON"T YOU DARE TELL ME ABOUT MY ANGER!!" he screamed as loudly as he could, and Marik backed away. So did Yugi.

Bakura doubled over to recover his hurting lungs "You think you know about death, Mariku? You think you're so smart? Let me SHOW you DEATH!!!" Bakura shouted suddenly, and Marik felt the ring grow hot in his hands. It started to scorch his flesh and he reflexively dropped it to the ground. The ornament started to glow and shake eerily. Marik glanced from the ring to Bakura.

He suddenly saw dark mist covering Ryou's body, as the yellow ring kept vibrating on the floor. Marik and Yugi saw Ryou's body fall to the ground. Ryou shook his head lightly, his innocent brown eyes clouding over in wonder. What he saw was incomprehensible to him and he gasped when he saw the glowing ring at Marik's feet.

Ryou meant to say something, but was cut off by a bright light, coming from the ring. Marik, Ryou and Yugi glanced down at the glowing thing on the ground, and suddenly, much to Marik's surprise, the form of a glowing transparent body appeared in front of him.

The body had suddenly appeared out of the ring's shine and simply floated in the air. Ryou gasped and so did the other boys. The see-through body only had an outline, but it didn't have a specific form.

It wasn't the form of Ryou Bakura, or any other person...it was just a transparent body with a glowing white outline. It was the outline of a normal body: two legs, two hands, a torso and a head...but that was it. Marik gasped, as he saw the thing float down to him.

"Do you see who I really am?" a deep voice echoed around, almost shaking the earth as it spoke. Marik was frozen, immobilized, as the spirit floated in front of him.

"I have no form...I have no identity...no memories." The being's hand reached out and touched Marik's cheek just barely, taking a small gasp away from the blonde boy's mouth. It was so cold...so frozen a touch.

"I have no...body..." the spirit said finally and it floated away from Marik and towards Ryou.

"Don't you see, Mariku...the boy is just my host...what you believe I look like is just an illusion...."The glowing spirit suddenly glided towards Ryou's body. Marik and Yugi flinched, as the glowing thing ran through Ryou, and a wind ruffled the white haired boy's hair.

Marik gasped suddenly. When the glowing spirit had gone through Ryou, it had taken form again. It was in the shape of Ryou. The old Bakura that Marik had grown to recognize.

Bakura's fiery red eyes narrowed. "I am cursed. Damned. I have your precious eternal life...But it's not even a life...because I'm not alive, Mariku."

"Yami..." Ryou started wearily, eyeing Marik suspiciously. Obviously, the boy still thought that Marik could not see his spirit and wondered why Bakura was trying to talk to him.

However, Ryou was promptly ignored, as Bakura continued. The spirit's tone had risen again.

"You think you know all that? You think you know about death? This is death! Do you see it? Do you like it!? My life is my daily, friggin' death! I live to die! Everyday, the same thing! Everyday, I die! Again, and again and again and AGAIN!"

Bakura ran to Marik and actually run through Marik's body. When Marik recovered from the cool breeze that had gone by, he turned to look at Bakura and choked on his breath. Ryou and Yugi had done the same.

Bakura was there, standing in front of the blonde boy in a transparent body. A body that was the mirror image of Marik Ishtar. Bakura had taken Marik's form when he ran through him, just as he had done with Ryou.

Marik felt his blood run like ice in his veins as he watched Bakura in his own body. The 'Marik' that Bakura projected was a tad taller and had even tighter muscles than the real one. His blonde hair was raised in furious spikes, and his eyes...they were red. Instead of lavender, they had taken Bakura's original bloodshot red.

"Do you see this? Do you understand why I hate being stepped through!?" Bakura asked furiously "I can do it any time I want! I can take any shape that I want except my original one! I have no self! I have no presence! All I have left is my god damn anger! They did this to me! The FORCED me! So I'll break them! I'll kill them all! I"LL KILL THEM ALL!!"

Bakura was still in the form of Marik's body. He came to stand in front of the real Marik, frighteningly close. Although he was transparent and unable to touch Marik in any way, the blonde still felt very exposed for some reason.

Bakura bent down to Marik's face, their tanned noses inches from each other "So don't you tell me about my anger." He whispered so low that only Marik could hear.

Marik couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe. He watched numbly as Bakura turned around and walked away, walking towards Ryou slowly. The silver haired boy was completely shocked. He kept staring at Bakura's now tanned Marik-like face.

"Darkside...what does this mean?" the boy asked in a morbid, stiff voice.

Bakura didn't do anything. He didn't even give his trademark smirk. "It doesn't mean anything." He stated finally and closed his eyes slowly. In a mere second, he had faded away, his body dissipating in a thick mist.

Ryou glanced at Yugi, who seemed utterly speechless and then at Marik, who looked ashamed to no extent.

"...Marik?" Ryou finally questioned a bit uneasily "Are...you okay?" Ryou asked.

Marik turned slowly to Ryou and blinked. Then he turned to the floor and looked at where the golden ring was lying, lifeless. He took a few unconscious steps forward and bent down to his knees. Neither Ryou nor Yugi made a move, afraid they would disturb Marik in some way. The blonde boy simply reached out and lifted the ring from the floor. Slowly, and a bit ceremoniously, Marik gently took the ring in both hands and bent his head to rest on it.

"I'm sorry..." he finally whispered "I...I never knew...I mean of course I knew, but I..." Marik stuttered very uncharacteristically, making Ryou's eyebrows shoot up in surprise "I didn't mean to offend you...I didn't know what I was saying..." Marik unconsciously squeezed the ring between his fingers, trying to make the cold gold give him some kind of response...

"...I just ..." Marik softly started "...freaked out."

Yugi slowly approached the form of the kneeling boy, Ryou mimicking his movements. They watched Marik intently as he spoke, until something broke their trance. It was a soft glow coming from the ring. This time, it didn't burn in Marik's hands. It was just warm. It was warm and giving a soft pulse...a beat.

Marik closed his eyes and imagined it was Bakura's heartbeat. He tried to think of a way to imagine Bakura's real face, but all he could imagine was a pair of red eyes, glaring in the midst of fiery chasms. He smiled slowly, as he felt the warm ring glow between his fingers.

When he reopened his eyes, he saw what he was expecting, a transparent spirit standing with its back to him. Awkward wind was ruffling Bakura's white-silver hair –perhaps it came from his own spiritual dimension and that's why nobody else could feel it.

Ryou and Yugi turned to look at the spirit, who had his hands shoved in the pockets of Ryou Bakura's black trousers. His torn army shirt was identical to Ryou's and even his white hair had the same amount of grease as Ryou's body currently had.

"Yami..." Ryou said in surprise, not knowing how to react in a situation where other people could see Bakura as well.

Bakura turned his bloodshot eyes to look at the group of three and he finally settled his gaze on the blonde boy.

"Just don't do it again, pretty boi...or I'll pluck your goo-goo eyes out with a pair of tweezers." Bakura said what could be considered the most inappropriate line in the history of mankind. Marik, however, felt strangely comforted and grinned with that very sly, seductive grin that Ryou hadn't seen in ages. The blonde stood up instantly, the golden ring still held tightly in his right hand, and took a few steps towards the spirit.

"Well..." Marik started and Yugi and Ryou curiously noted that he had lapsed into his old, seductive self "Why were you trying to help me all those times?"

Bakura's head instantly shot up and he aimed a cruel glare at Marik "Why do you think, you idiot? You're the only one who can control that lunatic Kaiba! We need you!" the spirit barked. 'I need you...you're the only person who knows me besides that idiot of a Brightside...' he added in his thoughts, but refused to acknowledge he had thought anything like that.

Marik just kept that sly grin on his face and Bakura felt thoroughly shaken. Why wasn't his customary killer-glare getting through? Why was Marik immune?

"Well..." Marik started a bit too gleefully "You are right about that...I AM the only person who can control Kaiba..." he gave Bakura a very dark leer "So you do NEED me in order to survive..."

Bakura fumed silently and was about to answer with a very profound string of curses. Unfortunately, someone interrupted him.

"Excuse me" Ryou's soft voice was suddenly heard "But could someone please explain to me what on earth is going on here?" he inquired a bit angrily. After all, this had been a trying day for him. First, he lost Serenity. Then, he almost lost Marik. Now, he finally got Marik back, only to learn that Marik AND Yugi could see his dark self. Nevertheless, he still managed to keep his temper. Now THAT was honorable.

"And to me." Yugi piped up, feeling left out of the whole scene.

Bakura smirked and thought he'd have quite a good time watching Marik try to explain things. Marik, on the other hand, sighed wearily.

"Umm..." he started a bit uncomfortably, which was very out of character for him. But then again, many uncharacteristic things had been happening these days..."Ryou, I was actually planning to tell you one of these days..."

'What a gigantic lie!' Bakura and Marik thought in the same time. Marik boldly continued, however...

"I can see Bakura." Marik stated the obvious "I don't know how or why...Actually, I could see him since the very first day I met you, when he came out of the ring in KaibaCorp..."

Ryou sported a breathless expression, and Yugi simply seemed confused. After all, the boy hadn't been told the entire story of how Ryou and Marik met and escaped Mercury...nor did he know that Ryou had been transformed to a young boy from an old fag! All Yugi had been told was that Kaiba was after them, for some reason.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryou finally asked, after a long silence. Marik seemed uncomfortable.

"Well...I thought you had enough problems adjusting to a new world already, so I thought I'd keep it for later...but then things kept happening...and I never found the right moment to tell you..."

Ryou tried not to fume in inexplicable anger. So THIS was the right moment? They were in the middle of a cell, waiting to be executed by Kaiba for a crime they never committed, Serenity was gone...and Marik and Bakura finally found the courage to confess they had been talking to each other for...who knows!!??

Thus, Ryou just dropped to the floor and leaned on the wall tiredly. "Cool." He said, in a tone harsher than he had expected "Anything else?" he asked the rhetorical question. The answer was, of course 'yes'.

"Actually..." Marik started and Ryou nodded his head in confirmation of his suspicions "We thought of something that might help regain Bakura's memories. We believe Kaiba may be involved..."

Ryou's eyes widened. Woooow. Hold on, there. Regain Bakura's memories? Kaiba involved? Ryou had the feeling that there had been a lot more secret conversations going on between Bakura and Marik than he had originally thought.

Suddenly, a sweet voice was heard. "Excuse me...but would I be too bold if I asked how come you have an item with a spirit inside it?" Yugi asked Ryou.

"Of course not." Ryou answered simultaneously with Bakura who said "YES, you would be."

Marik and Yugi resisted the urge to hit their heads on the wall in exasperation. Ryou simply shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned to Yugi.

"Well...it's a much too long story, and now's not the right time to tell you everything, Yugi...I'll just tell you that Bakura is a spirit that is cursed to live in that golden ring" Ryou pointed at the ring in Marik's hands. "and that he takes over my body sometimes. Until now, only I could see Bakura, but...Well, I don't know how come the both of you can see him, to be honest. I'm just happy that you don't think I'm crazy or something..."

Ryou smiled at himself inwardly. It was true...this was quite unexpected but true. Ryou now finally had two friends that could see Bakura. He didn't need to hold the fear of rejection any more. Marik knew about it and so did Yugi. That was two people down. Then came the most important part...Serenity. How would he tell her? Except of course if she could also see Bakura and was hiding it from him. Ryou tried to rejoice on that thought. Serena wouldn't think he was crazy!

Meanwhile, Bakura was tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. He never did like these long ongoing conversations. He wanted fast paced things...that's mainly why he enjoyed talking to Marik so much...But Marik could never know that, of course.

"Funny..." Yugi's kind voice suddenly said. The spiky-haired boy looked downwards to his pyramid locket and smiled. "And I thought I had the same problem..." his voice trailed on.

Unexpectedly, the necklace tied around Yugi's neck stared glowing and moving frantically. It was as eerie as the glow if the golden ring. Bakura's attention was finally pulled. Ryou also watched in utter fascination...it was that spirit again. The spirit that he had seen take over Yugi's body.

The by-now usual mist covered Yugi's lithe form. When the fog cleared, Marik, Ryou and Bakura widened their eyes. Standing next to Yugi was no other but the transparent image of the Dark Warrior they had all seen.

The newcomer was as silent as a stone, his head dipped stoically downwards. His arms were crossed over his chest and his legs were slightly parted as he stood. (typical Yami Yugi pose) The man was the mirror image of Yugi, only slightly taller and even thinner –if possible. Yugi's leather-biker look fit the dark one perfectly, and this person's spiky hair had more platinum blonde highlights than Yugi's.

"Meet my Partner." Yugi introduced and suddenly a panicked look clouded his features "You can see him, right? Just like you can see Ryou's dark self...right?"

Ryou clearly recognized his own problem in the boy's voice. Poor Yugi was afraid that people would think he was crazy. It suddenly made perfect sense that Yugi had no other friends than sweet and understanding Tea. It made perfect sense why Yugi was lonely and utterly devoted to virtual games and spaceships. It was absolutely understandable why Yugi lived alone and isolated in a pathetic little hut of Yango...he was afraid...afraid that people would think he was crazy.

Ryou was so moved that he had found another person with his problem that he felt like shouting it to the world. He restrained himself, however, and settled on nodding wordlessly to reassure Yugi that they could see his dark self.

Yugi's huge eyes widened in happiness. He threw a sideways glance at the man standing next to him and smiled. He turned to look at the others, who were staring right at his dark self. No, this wasn't a dream...people finally understood him.

"I saw you..." Marik simply told Dark Yugi "I saw you when you took over Yugi's body at the ship..." he continued. "You must be a spirit like Bakura, right?" the blonde boy inquired.

Dark Yugi simply raised his head to reveal a hardened face and two purple jewels shining with authority. He curtly nodded at Marik. "I am." He stated "At least that's what I think I am..."

Marik and Bakura raised an eyebrow at that. Suddenly, Dark Yugi's gaze averted to Bakura. The albino spirit instantly decided he didn't like the lordly power that those violet orbs transmitted. He gave his own rebellious glare in response.

"You say you have no memories...you say you can't remember who you are...your past..." the powerful spirit started "...Is it true?" he inquired. Bakura didn't like that kingly tone one bit. He would have given Dark Yugi what he considered as a 'proper' answer, if he wasn't anxious to find out what the other spirit wanted to say.

So Bakura nodded reluctantly, earning incredulous stares from both Marik and Ryou. How did this happen? Bakura acting normal? Since when?

Dark Yugi sighed "Neither can I..." he continued as he paced around, lost in reminiscence "Ever since Kaiba Seto gave Yugi my pyramid necklace five years ago...I sort of...came back to life. I can't remember who I am or where I came from...I can't even remember how I got locked in this item...Yugi said he'd help me find my memories by visiting new planets..."

"Too bad that dream is lost..." Yugi bitterly commented.

"It's not lost" Ryou started wisely "It's just postponed...'

Dark Yugi nodded dismissively "Well, anyhow...I don't understand why you people can see me...it's never happened before. Usually, people make fun of Yugi and say he's crazy..." he left that statement hanging and came to stand next to Yugi. "Why do you say Kaiba may have something to do with our lost memories?" he asked Marik.

Marik stared at Dark Yugi with those piercing lavender eyes of his. At first, Marik had not liked this spirit...Dark Yugi always behaved as though he was the protagonist of everything...asking questions and demanding answers be given to him at all times. But now...Marik understood this spirit. In contrast to Bakura, who felt violated and forsaken...this Yugi was thoughtful and cunning. Dark Yugi had the will to explore his past and had learned to demand answers, while Bakura simply wanted revenge for what had been done to him. An image of a blood-fetished Bakura entered Marik's mind. The albino spirit had so much passion...so much life in him...how could a man like that be dead?

Maybe it wouldn't be wise to reveal the whole story to Yugi just yet. Not while they had to focus on escaping Kaiba's grasp.

"It's a very long story...I'll just inform you that we believe Kaiba knows about the spirits in the golden items" Marik rushed to say "But I promise we'll tell you and Ryou everything once we get out of this place...Right now, we have to focus on getting out and saving the others..."

"That's right!" Yugi commented worriedly "Who knows what that psychopath may do to Tea!"

Ryou tried to restrain the urge to speak about Serenity and sound like a love struck twenty-year-old, which he technically was. Weren't people of his age too old to fall in love?

-Oh, please- he heard someone speak in his head and recognized it as Bakura. On the outside, Ryou instantly turned to Bakura and gave him a disapproving look. After all, Ryou was a noble –he could never fall to the level of glaring...

Bakura smirked audibly. "What's so funny?" Dark Yugi instantly asked and Bakura really felt like bashing the other spirit's head right then.

"Umm, he just thought of something!" Ryou quickly covered, before Bakura could say something offensive.

"Hey," Marik started saying to Dark Yugi with a sly grin "What should we call you? I suppose you already know our names...right?"

Dark Yugi nodded silently "This occasion has never come before...what should you call me?"

Yugi smiled suddenly "I know!" he turned to Marik and Ryou "How about 'Game King'? After all, when I play virtual games...it is always my Partner that takes over my mind! So it's only logical he be called by his own title, right?" Yugi aimed a flawless smile to his dark self.

Dark Yugi mirrored the kind smile "Whatever you see fit, Partner."

Bakura and Marik felt more than reluctant to call Dark Yugi 'Game King'. There was no reason to inflate the man's ego even more...he already seemed to carry an air of authority as it was. Bakura would really like to break that spirit but decided he should put up with it, for now. After all, you never know when 'Game King' might prove as a useful asset.

Marik smirked inwardly. Game King, eh? Smart one, he had to admit –it did match Dark Yugi's personality wonderfully. So it was Game King that had the talent of virtual games...then what was Yugi's passion? Spaceships? Obviously...

"Ok, we must get out of this place before Kaiba kills us. Any ideas?" Marik asked finally.

Everyone glanced at each other blankly, except for Bakura who just glared at the floor. Game King? He was hating it already...

"Maybe we should try breaking that electrical barrier." Ryou reasoned, but Yugi shook his head in refusal.

"Firstly, we have no tools. Secondly, the force may kill us." The kind boy commented.

"Yes..." Ryou started wisely "But what if we messed with that card slot? Maybe we can use the old method of lock pick-"

"The spirits."

"Huh?" everybody turned to Marik, whose eyebrows had furrowed in thought.

"They're spirits, right? They won't get hurt going through the barrier..." Marik commented.

The King seemed to reconsider "But what's the use? We can't touch anything. We can't bring you the keys..."

"True..." Marik said simply "But you can inform us of what's going on outside..."

The boys eyed each other wearily. Ryou and Yugi seemed reluctant while the spirits were weighing their options.

Finally, Bakura was the one to break the silence "What the hell..." he started "I've done this a thousand times. What can possibly be different about this once?"

The King of Games turned to the albino spirit wearily "It's not like there is a wall we can go through...the entrance is covered by the barrier..."

Bakura nodded, and suddenly an evil idea came to mind "After you, your highness..." he motioned to the entrance. His tone hadn't been ironic but everyone still caught the hidden meaning. Marik sighed. Bakura was Bakura...no matter what.

The spirits walked airily to where the barrier was located and stood right before it. The three boys observed intently from behind. Bakura was studying the Game King's face, which showed the ghost of a doubt.

Bakura rolled his eyes "Oh, please, I'm going first.' He started and walked straight at the barrier...only to be harshly tossed right back.

Bakura hadn't even yelled as he was warded off of the barrier like some sort of parasite. He fell to the floor and although no sound was heard, he was seen curling up into a ball.

"Bakura!!" Marik yelled as he ran instantly to the fallen spirit's side, followed closely by Ryou.

Marik knew better than to cater to the spirit and provoke his anger. Instead, he settled on a simple "Are you okay?"

The blonde boy's rich voice however, did portray his concern. He couldn't hide it no matter how hard he tried. All his seduction-camouflage techniques were useless now, at a time when the spirit he had grown to respect was hurt.

From behind the blonde, Ryou watched Marik's antics curiously. Marik seemed genuinely concerned about his Darkside...wait a minute. Had Bakura actually found a friend? Someone to understand him? Ryou felt a bit hurt at being left out of this whole story for so long, but dismissed it nonetheless. From now on, he would make sure to observe every little detail of interaction between these two. What had happened to make them respect each other so much? Strange...his Yami usually respected no one...And Marik rarely –if ever- found someone worthy to respect. Ryou knew he was one of the lucky ones to gain Marik's respect...but about trust...he wasn't so sure. Ryou did have the feeling, however, that Marik did trust Bakura with secrets...secrets no one else possibly knew. But...as always, Ryou decided not to pry in other peoples' affairs and let the situation unfold before his eyes.

He was more worried about his beloved Darkside right now.

"What the heck was that?" the Game King inquired, as he stared at the glowing blue beams.

Bakura raised his head and sat up from his lying position, purposely trying to ignore Marik and Ryou's worried stare. "I don't know..." the white-haired demon started "...but I'll take it down for sure!" he shouted as he shot up and ran straight back to the barrier.

But the second try was also fruitless, and Bakura found himself tossed to the floor for the next time. The spirit growled deep in his throat. "Bastards..." he kept muttering and above him Ryou shook his head dejectedly.

"He never learns..." Ryou stated as he eyed Bakura's recovering form.

Meanwhile, the Game King was observing everything with wide eyes.

"Impossible!" he said decisively "Our spirit forms cannot be touched!"

Yugi watched his other self worriedly, but the King ignored him. With a resolved glare, Dark Yugi ran and delved onto the electrical field, wanting to pass through it. Naturally, he was thrown back into the room.

"Impossible..." the king of Games kept muttering under his breath, as he sat up from the unfortunate fall.

Suddenly, Marik spoke up in his rich, full voice "Which only enhances and justifies our theory of Kaiba knowing about these spirits..." he stated, receiving curious glares from everyone.

Marik narrowed his eyes in a sly, meaningful way. "How else can you explain the fact that he placed us in a cell which has barriers that can ward off the spirits?"

Everyone stayed silent for a while, considering those last words...it was truly an overly suspicious coincidence.

"But maybe it happens with all electrical barriers..." the voice of reason known as Ryou suddenly spoke up "How could the spirits be blocked, anyway?" he directed the question to everyone in general.

Bakura scowled. He didn't like this whole commotion one bit. He never liked to be controlled and was still wary of Marik's ability to control him. Unconsciously, he sent a glare to the Game King, only to be completely ignored. Thus, he focused his attention on Marik who was now speaking.

"I don't know how he managed to do it, but I do know this is his building, his prison, his barrier, and his goons. I'm sure he knows about the spirits. How else could he make a barrier that would ward them off?"

Yugi, Ryou and the king nodded skeptically at this suggestion. But they never had the chance to compensate more on these facts, since the sound of footsteps and voices were heard.

Yugi frantically turned to glance around. What was happening?

"Partner! What should we do? Kaiba is coming to kill us!" Yugi asked his dark self. The Game King was at loss for words.

"Just believe in yourself! Believe in you, Yugi!" the king said with a voice that echoed around. With a sudden flash, the spirit was lost inside the golden pyramid around Yugi's neck. The spiky-haired boy shut his eyes in determination and smiled lightly.

"Thank you, Partner..." the boy said finally and after that, he opened his eyes to face the ongoing commotion.

Marik was staring at Bakura, only to have his gaze returned. "It's Kaiba!" Marik finally said, and Bakura nodded wordlessly.

"Keep your pants on, pretty boy...you're supposed to be the one who can control him." Bakura gave a sneer, and watched Marik grant him an annoyed glare.

Bakura smirked and turned to his Brightside. No words were spoken as Ryou and Bakura simply gazed at each other.

-You can't die. I won't let you leave me alone again, Brightside.- Bakura's voice echoed in Ryou's mind with an air of finality, and Ryou's eyes widened. The albino finally nodded in apprehension, and curiously watched Bakura's bloodshot glare flutter to where Marik was standing.

'I won't let you leave me...' Bakura thought with inexplicable resolve as he glanced at Marik 'Not when I finally found you.' With that last thought, the yellow ring flashed in Marik's hands and Bakura had vanished into it. Marik's eyes widened as he watched the glow of the ring fade slowly.

He turned to Ryou immediately, and shoved the ring in the albino's face. "I never realized I was holding it all this time! Here! Don't let Kaiba see it!" Marik urged as Ryou took the ring from his hands.

The angelic boy placed the necklace around his neck and buried it under his torn shirt with one quick movement. Then, he briefly glanced at Marik and Yugi, who had identical determined glances on their faces.

Ryou's eyes widened as he heard the voices come closer to their cell. Oh no, was this the end? He turned to look at Marik, only to greet the sight of unperturbed determination. Although the blonde was wounded and starved for more than twelve hours, Marik seemed to have regenerated.

The albino really didn't know whether he was prepared to face his death or not. But then again, he had faced death once in his old age...why not do it again? But perhaps the life he remembered in the 21st century was a lie....an illusion. This new life felt so much more real than anything he ever remembered.

This trail of thought was interrupted suddenly by a sharp voice. The three boys turned to the prison entrance immediately, only to face the most impending sight one could ever imagine.

Walking towards the prison bars was the notorious CEO of KaibaCorp, Seto Kaiba. Ryou had seen him up close before...but he'd never imagined him to seem so...dark, all of a sudden.

Kaiba was wearing black trousers with silver boots that had straps protruding from his calves. His black turtleneck was adorned by a chain, which was wrapped around his neck. A small card seemed to be hanging from the chain –obviously a security Level-A card. The most ominous thing about Kaiba's look, however, was his long black trench coat. It reached his ankles and floated with his moves in a romantic manner. A silver belt and silver gloves also adorned Kaiba's style, and Ryou noted lamely that the belt had the inscription 'KC' carved on it.

On each side of Kaiba walked a security guard, while a couple of more goons followed him. Kaiba had this stark, sadistic look in his dark dull eyes. Ryou could clearly recognize the cool cobalt color of Kaiba's orbs shoot out from his very head. Those eyes were so bright, they could shine their sapphire glow for miles and miles away. As for Kaiba's facial expression...well the man had his pale lips pursed in a satisfied smirk. His chestnut hair was absolutely motionless as he walked. The security guards beside him had black army suits and masks on, but Kaiba himself didn't. Ryou didn't even want to know why.

Suddenly, Kaiba's arctic eyes seemed to focus on something on Ryou's right, and the frosty cobalt orbs widened. He immediately turned to one of the guards that stood next to him and pointed straight at Marik.

"What is he doing here!!??" Kaiba's unearthly voice roared at the guard. "I thought I gave you strict orders to put each person in separate cells!!"

The guard on the CEO's left cowered back in what could clearly be identified as fear. "I-I'm sorry sir...it won't happen again...We-"

"Shut the hell up Jay! You don't want to see me bark for real!" Kaiba yelled and Ryou vaguely recognized the guard. It was the same one who had escorted them in the cell. "Or did you think I didn't hear that comment about me barking?" Kaiba grabbed a rifle from another guard and aimed it right at Jay "Well think again!" Kaiba shouted as he prepared to fire the gun.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Kaiba finally broke out, and the guard known as Jay immediately ran out of the corridor. Kaiba finally turned back to the occupants of the cell. He had hoped to send someone to kill Marik individually, so that he'd never have to come face to face with the boy that made him so uncomfortable. Now, however, he had no choice due to someone's stupidity. He decided to conceal his anger and weakness, and proceeded to act indifferent and normal again.

Meanwhile, Marik was having a disturbing feeling of déjà vu. So he finally got to see his old boss, again. Long gone were the times when he acted that he respected Kaiba. Now, the boy's lavender eyes glared daggers into those frosty blue eyes that –Marik could clearly see- were leering right at him. So Kaiba didn't want him there...maybe this justified their suspicions of Kaiba being afraid of him. Marik smirked lightly at that. It was all thanks to Jay and his idiocy.

Finally, Kaiba came to a stop before the electric bars. With a swift motion of his hand, a guard had instantly swooped to the card slot on the wall, and deactivated the bars.

Kaiba grinned mercilessly as he walked inside the cell, and Ryou had to suppress the urge to run out of the now free entrance. But soon, a couple of guards stepped in the doorway and stood there, obviously replacing the electrical barrier with a human one. How ironic...the human one seemed more dangerous than the other...

Meanwhile, Yugi took an involuntary step back as Kaiba approached them and stood in a distance less than six feet away. That was it, Ryou thought, six feet away from their deaths.... Soon...soon they would be buried six feet under...yet another cruel irony.

Kaiba aimed a smirk at Yugi. "Well, well, well..." Kaiba started and Ryou almost shivered from the sadistic pleasure in that voice. Marik seemed to have yet another assault of deja vu.

"If it isn't the mighty King of Games...." Kaiba commented with a psychotic look- it was Yugi who he had been willing to see, anyway "I see you've kept that little trinket I gave you the last time we met..."

Marik swore he saw a spark of victory flash across Kaiba's face. So he did know about the spirits! Marik vaguely wondered whether Kaiba could see them, too. The blonde boy decided it was time to take action. With a sigh, he decided to speak. He did not want to do this.

"How did you find us, Kaiba?" Marik questioned with an unwavering, hateful glare "I'm pretty sure none of your guards found us in Yango...And I'd better not mention your worthy goons at Mercury's spaceport...They practically ushered us out of the planet."

An immediate flash of anger entered Kaiba's eyes but had left as soon as it came. He had the advantage, after all. Marik disappointedly watched the ire in Kaiba turn into pleasant sarcasm...Marik used to enjoy infuriating Kaiba and responding to his games...but now was not the right time.

"Well, look who's talking..." Kaiba eyed Marik pointedly up and down "The man-slut."

Marik was too tired to respond to Kaiba's insults and mind tricks. If only he'd had a proper meal...he'd shoe this walking refrigerator what he's worth! But...in this situation, Kaiba continued undisturbed.

"What's wrong, Ishtar? Forgot to wear your jewelry and just don't feel comfortable without them?"

Marik's eyes constricted in anger. No. He would not give Kaiba the satisfaction of succeeding in pissing him off. But Kaiba was right. Marik had still kept the camouflage that he had worn in Yango. He had given up his jewelry and his usual beautiful clothes in order to pass unnoticed amongst the poor residents of Virna. Now he probably looked like a pathetic excuse for what once was the glorious and handsome Marik Ishtar.

"Or maybe it's just because my little visitors gave you too much of a shock?" Kaiba pointed at what used to be Marik's wound "Honestly, I'm surprised you survived the cold. You're always a challenge, Ishtar..." Kaiba had this unreadable expression of mixed fury and excitement on his face "It's so perfect to see you so helpless, handsome one..." Kaiba murmured ominously "You have no idea how long I have waited to see this..."

Ryou felt disgusted. To see what, exactly? Marik at his demise? Marik looking like a ragged doll? To see what?

Finally, Ryou couldn't take the sarcasm any more and spoke up.

"Stop it!" the albino shouted, earning a raised eyebrow from the CEO "You know nothing of what we have gone through!" Ryou yelled with impressive boldness. Wasn't he usually the innocent and helpless one?

Kaiba smirked loudly "Although I usually don't talk to guinea pigs, I'll tell you I know exactly what you have gone through!!!" Kaiba turned to Marik with a triumphant glare "That's why I like it so much!! By the way, I see our experiment was flawless. You haven't changed a day wince we converted you –you're still young."

Marik gave him a dirty look. What a beast! Yugi and Ryou thought the same thing. Although Ryou and Yugi never quite understood why Kaiba kept calling the albino a 'guinea pig', Marik understood everything. This only infuriated the blonde boy even more. But he would not show his anger to Kaiba.

In a low, dark tone, Marik repeated his last words. The blonde boy had set all his will power in what he was saying "Kaiba...I demand to know how you discovered us! Tell me!" Marik practically ordered Death impersonated.

Kaiba froze, unexpectedly. 'Why the hell can't I say what I want?' he thought a bit desperately, as he saw Marik's demanding eyes. 'Why can't I oppose him??' Kaiba begrudgingly thought, as his cobalt eyes widened in effort.

Suddenly, as he thought of disobeying Marik, a sharp pain erupted in the back of his brain. It was so stale and piercing that it almost drove the tall man mad. Kaiba didn't really know how to react, so he decided to answer Marik calmly, and make it seem like he did it on his own accord.

"Well, if you really must know..." Kaiba started, trying to hide the tone of exasperation that the pain on the back of his head produced "I have a friend in Yango...And Pegasus was not very pleased to lose to Yugi."

The blue-eyed beast turned to glare at Yugi's thin form "Did you honestly think that you'd go into the tower and take the ship unnoticed?" Kaiba roared in laughter.

"There was a tracer in that pod! My men tracked you down the moment you took off from Virna." The pain in Kaiba's mind vaporized as soon and as suddenly as it had appeared. Now, all the CEO had left was to wonder about it.

Unfortunately for the sadistic man, though, Marik had already realized his weakness. He had seen it by the way Kaiba had looked and talked...Bakura was right! Kaiba was in pain and he couldn't disobey him!

But at the moment, another thought assaulted Marik 'How could I be so careless?' the boy thought frantically 'Of course it was Peg! Who else could it be? Who else could have seen us leave in that pod? So Peg is Kaiba's right hand man...'

Suddenly, Ryou spoke "That doesn't make sense." He blatantly stated, making Kaiba raise another eyebrow at him "How could Peg know that Yugi was with us all along? And how come Peg be your friend?"

Marik was very interested in Kaiba's answers. Ryou was right. How?

Kaiba seemed unperturbed and simply smirked dismissively "Not only you look like a specimen, but you also think as primitively as one..."

Ryou was thoroughly confused at this, but focused on Kaiba's next words.

"We had our hover-cameras following Yugi's every move after he won the tournament. " he started "We also saw your little lot come into the tower via surveillance cameras. As for your other, ridiculous question...who do you think promoted Peg's pathetic virtual games? I just needed someone to report to me from Yango, so I fixed his little company."

Marik was petrified. Of course! How could he be so stupid!? It all made sense now! That little scum, Peg, had set them up!! How could he be so careless!! He had taken the entire group down with his stupidity! What would Serena say now? What would Bakura say? He was supposed to help him regain his memories...not lead them all to their doom!

Kaiba took that little pause of silence to regain his stature. That little occurrence with Marik's orders had put him into worry. Why was it happening again? He thought he'd come over it...but no! he was forced to obey Marik's every order all over again. Kaiba eyed Marik suspiciously, but the blonde boy was staring at the floor with a thoughtful gaze. Now was the right time!

Kaiba decided he'd best kill Marik and get it over with while he still had time. He was hoping to send someone to kill Marik without having to meet him, but now that things had come this way...it was better to kill Marik before the boy realized his weakness and got the chance to cause more harm.

"Well, gentlemen..." Kaiba rushed to say, as he turned around and walked towards the exit of the cell "It's been a pleasure talking to you, but...business is business..."

He finally exited the platform and motioned for a few goons to enter. They started closing in on the three friends, who were seriously alerted by now. Was this the end? Was this their murder?

"Kaiba wait!" Marik shouted suddenly "Why are you doing this?!"

Kaiba smirked loudly, trying to be heard over the guards' footsteps.

"Really, Ishtar! I thought you'd have figured it out by now!" Kaiba laughed cruelly "No one must know about our little discovery in Rewind 1!!"

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit Ryou. It was Bakura's feelings...it happened every time that name was heard...'Rewind 1'

Marik was caught by two guards harshly and held by his arms. He thrashed wildly around and glared at Kaiba.

"What do you mean, Kaiba?!" Marik inquired hoarsely. "You mean Nectra? You don't want people to know about its abilities? Are you crazy!?" Marik cried and lunged towards Kaiba, only to be restrained by the goons. Ryou and Yugi had also been seized and were writhing around frantically, trying to escape.

But Ryou was listening intently at what Marik was saying, trying to unravel the mysteries that he had not been told about. What was Nectra? And Rewind 1? He could've sworn he'd heard this names before...It was like a memory from a dream...

Kaiba laughed evilly "You actually thought that I'd reveal such a secret to the world! How pathetic! The gift of eternal youth cannot be granted to every single man! Only a few, select ones can have it! Once I kill you all, and rid the world of any proof that Rewind 1 ever happened...I shall finally attain it! The power of eternal life!"

Marik gasped. So THAT was it! Kaiba wanted Nectra all for himself! He wanted to be young forever! He...he wanted to LIVE forever! What Kaiba was practically saying was that...he'd kill everyone that had to do with Rewind 1, so that the world could never know about Nectra...and then he'd use the essence all for himself!! So Kaiba wanted to live as a youth forever!

Kaiba smirked loudly "You IDIOT! I can't erase your memories, because it's too risky! What if you suddenly remember everything? Nah....I'll use this technique with these idiots!" Kaiba motioned to the guards around him. "They willingly signed the contract! I'll erase their memories of these happening as soon as I'm done with you!"

Marik and Ryou's eyes widened –it was the end!

Kaiba laughed in a mean tone "Why do you think KC has been conducting all these experiments all along? We've been searching for something, and we've finally found it!"

Marik froze. All those illegal experiments...all this time...Kaiba was searching for eternal life! It all made sense!

"Only a select few can attain the power of immortality..." Kaiba started slowly "I shall please my _Masters_ by giving them this gift! All that keeps me from my victory is you and your little friends!! First I kill you...and the others come next!"

Ryou, Marik and Yugi were flabbergasted. _Masters_? Who was Kaiba talking about? What Masters. Marik was desperate. One minute he was sure he'd figured everything out, but then it blew up in his face! So Kaiba was working for someone? Not for himself? But it was impossible- who could control Kaiba?

Who wanted eternal life? Who else knew about Nectra? What Masters?

The next few moments started to play in slow motion for the three friends. Three words were uttered from Kaiba's lips...three words that made them all forget about their musings and push them into a delirious state of panic.

"KILL THEM ALL!" Kaiba cried, in the most triumphant voice the boys had ever heard. Tight clutches came onto Marik's body from everywhere and he had no time to react as guards lunged on him violently.

Meanwhile, Kaiba shook his head dismissively and turned around- his black coat flowing freely behind him. He had his back turned to the scene of murder and started to walk contentedly away. But then, a sudden cry echoed around him.

"NO!" Marik's voice was heard in a commanding tone "CALL THEM BACK KAIBA!" Marik screamed. "CALL THEM BACK!!"

Kaiba smirked dismissively and started to walk away. That was, until a stabbing pain attacked his head. The pressure was so great, that Kaiba fell to his knees and grabbed his head with both hands.

"KAIBA!! DO IT!!" Marik screamed from beneath yells and screeches. Kaiba desperately tried to walk away, but his mind couldn't function properly. His primitive instincts of breathing and moving had been reduced to a pathetic degree, as the pumping pressure in his head almost split his skull in two.

"Master...." He whimpered pathetically, as he clutched his head with both hands "I-I'm sorry...Master..." he whispered, as more pain came surging into his brain.

"AHHHHH!!!" Kaiba finally screamed at the top of his lungs. It pulled the attention of all the guards. The goons that had been hitting Marik and the others stopped what they were doing in order to look at Kaiba's fallen form curiously.

"Sir..." the guard who was closer to Kaiba started saying, but was cut off by Kaiba's desperate voice.

"LET THEM GO!" the CEO yelled, his blue eyes narrowed in pain "DON'T HURT THEM!!"

At once, the guards that were holding Ryou, Yugi and loosened their grip and let the boy's stagger on the floor in shock. Marik felt immensely better, and tried to focus on Kaiba's fallen form. Kaiba had his head buried in his hands, obviously suffering. At once, Marik remembered that Bakura had told him it hurt his head every time he tried to oppose Marik's orders.

Marik's eyes widened incredulously, the lavender shine turning into violet in shock. So it was true! Completely true! Kaiba was in pain because he tried to disobey Marik! The blonde boy watched the tall man's fallen form shake miserably.

'What are you doing to me, Marik?' Kaiba wondered silently, as he felt the earth shattering pain leave his mind little by little. When the pressure had loosened enough, the arctic-eyed CEO fell to the ground heavily.

A couple of guards rushed to his side and helped him up, supporting his heavy body by the arms. Marik watched Kaiba's tortured expression in fascination. Was he really the one who had managed all of this? With just one plea?

Ryou and Yugi didn't say anything –obviously too shocked to even move. They all settled on staring at Kaiba in morbid fascination.

"I'm okay..." Kaiba started saying as he pushed the guards away from him. After all, Kaiba was never the one to accept other peoples' help and advice. The guards zealously backed away from the strong man, and proceeded to stare at his shaken form in disbelief. Was this psychological rack really Kaiba Seto?

Marik, however, was long lost in his musings. 'Does that mean...' he thought 'That he will obey my every order?' Marik eyed Kaiba up and down. 'Well I have nothing to lose...Now that I know his weakness.'

The blonde boy approached the tall CEO slowly. Kaiba didn't seem half as ominous and dark with his disheveled hair and his hoarse blue eyes. No guard made a move to stop Marik from walking and everyone simply observed, as the blonde boy came to stand a few feet away from Kaiba.

Marik glared straight into the man's eyes, and Kaiba had to suppress the urge to strangle the boy. He probably wouldn't succeed even if he tried.

"Listen to me, Kaiba." Marik started in a very commanding tone. He was setting his entire will on making Kaiba follow his orders...if only it would work. Yugi and Ryou held their breath in trepidation.

"First, you will lead us and our friends out of here." Marik continued at Kaiba's glaring eyes "Then, you will take us back to Yango with one of your private ships. You will not hurt any of us and you will take us to my house in Yango in peace. Do you understand?"

Kaiba smirked "You think you can order me around, Ishtar?" Kaiba imply sneered, hoping that Marik would hesitate and take back what he just said.

Marik's confidence wavered for just one moment 'What if I'm wrong?' he thought, but dismissed it at once. This was their only shot. They had no other way out. Either Kaiba would obey him, or they would die.

"Order your guards now. Do you understand?" Marik repeated in a lower tone, as his eyes glared spasmodically at Kaiba. His whole will, his whole existence was set into what he wanted Kaiba to do.

Kaiba flinched inwardly. He made a futile attempt to oppose Marik in his mind, but failed miserably. At once, a wave of nauseating pain hit his head, and the CEO grasped his head tightly in both palms.

"Damn..." he whispered "damn you, Ishtar!"

Marik's eyes widened as he saw the stronger man clutch at his head desperately before him. So he had succeeded! It was definitely right! He had the power to control Kaiba!

"Order them, Kaiba!" Marik harshly shouted, and Kaiba squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"S-Sorry...Masters..." Kaiba whispered brokenly, making Marik's eyes widened. It was that word again! 'Masters'...So Kaiba had someone who controlled him...

Kaiba then turned to the closest of the guards "Take their stupid lot of ten back to Yango...Use my private jet..."

With that said, the pain started to decrease in the chestnut-haired man's head. He stood up a bit shakily, and turned a forced glare on Marik when he thought he had the strength.

Marik was grinning with that sly, secretive grin Kaiba hated to see. It was clear that Marik was triumphant, and Kaiba cursed every holy power he knew about that. It was all because of that idiot, Jay. Kaiba would make sure he was executed the moment he saw him again.

If it hadn't been for that spineless idiot, Kaiba would never have come face to face with Marik...Then, his guards would finish the job, and he would have gotten rid of Marik forever!!

But no...it just had to happen like this...but wait a minute! He still had the advantage! He still had guards and powers that Marik could never dream of. A slow, sadistic grin found its way on Kaiba's face and Marik's smile was instantly wiped off.

Kaiba pointed a triumphant finger to Marik "HA!" he yelled victoriously, making Ryou and Yugi back away a bit. "I still outsmart you Ishtar!"

Marik gave Kaiba a questioning glare. What now?

"You may be able to force me to follow your orders...but you can't do the same for my men!!" Kaiba barked finally. Marik seemed a bit confused. What was the use in that? He had already ordered Kaiba to tell his men not to lay a finger on them!

"You careless idiot!" Kaiba started, making Marik a bit angry. Wasn't he the one who could control the CEO? Who was useless in this case?

At this Kaiba turned to his guards immediately "Guards! Once you reach his precious house in Yango, gather our forces around the residence and destroy them the moment they exit the house! This order cannot be altered no matter what anyone tells you –even me!"

Marik huffed. Now he understood what Kaiba was planning. He had told his guards that this order could not be cancelled so that Marik could not force him to take it back, and thus had designed a perfect trap for the ten friends. When the guards will be surrounding their house, Marik would be unable to stop them...and they would eventually have to exit the residence –at least to get food supplies!

Marik threw Kaiba a dirty look, only to be matched by an even glare.

"See you in hell, Ishtar." Kaiba stated with a sarcastic look. Ryou and Yugi couldn't believe what was happening. These occurrences were all very confusing for the two most ignorant people around. First, Marik seemed to control Kaiba...and now Kaiba had managed to find a way out of it?

With those last words, Kaiba turned around and walked away into the green-lit corridor. A few moments passed, before the CEO's personal bodyguards ran to follow him.

Once Kaiba had turned around the corner of the corridor, Marik finally let out the shaky breath he had been holding. Ryou and Yugi also sighed in inexplicable relief. Suddenly, Yugi backed away as t he goon who had previously been trying to kill him, walked next to him silently.

"Come." The guard said in a suspicious and quite bored tone. "We will lead you out of the complex and make sure to send someone to get your friends as well..."

Yugi blinked. Hadn't this man been trying to kill him mere minutes ago? Maybe these mercenaries really didn't have a conscience...what kind of man would consciously give up his memories in order to get some money? These people had no feelings, after all. They had sold their souls to the devil.

Ryou nodded slowly and walked beside Marik. He watched the blonde boy contemplate in silence, and decided it was best to leave Marik in his thoughts for now. Marik had much to think about, anyway...He also had many explanations to do...

Yugi walked up to them, followed by a couple of guards.

"Follow us now." One of the guards mechanically said as he walked forward, towards the corner of the corridor.

Yugi nodded eagerly and was the first to walk away. He wanted to see Tea so bad...he would do anything! Ryou took Marik's elbow in a gentle grasp, and dragged the boy forward slowly. Marik raised his eyes to look at his quiet friend apprehensively.

"We made it." The handsome blonde youth muttered quietly, as he walked forward slowly.

"Yeah..." Ryou's sincere mahogany eyes smiled at him. A small reassuring squeeze on Marik's elbow helped the sweetness erupt through Ryou. "We did." The albino finished. And for a brief moment, Marik clearly saw it...those kind eyes had turned red.

"SERENA!" the angelic boy cried immediately, once he saw the girl's frightened eyes watch him in disbelief.

The way he ran towards her and took her in his arms could have been considered wrong, but nothing mattered for them right then. The girl smiled at him and allowed him to pick her up and spin her in the air in glee.

It was such a wonderful moment! Finally, they had the chance to be together again. Serenity sunk her head in that chest she had so harshly been pry away from, and was surprised to hear Ryou's heartbeat thump against her ear. His heart was beating so fast! As though about to burst.

"Serena..." he murmured in bliss with a voice muffled from her head. He delved his face deeper into her soft long hair.

From a few feet beside them, Marik was watching patiently, a gleeful grin plastered on his face. Now was the time to be happy...his confused thoughts could surely wait for later. Yugi and Tea were hugging each other tightly, afraid that the other might disappear if they let go...

Marik had his own share of hugs and kisses from the girls. Rishid had humbly fallen to his knees and kissed the back of his Master's hand, glad that the boy was all right. Marik had tried to make his lifelong friend stop these antics, but found he could not convince Rishid to leave the ways of a follower. It bothered Marik a lot, but if it made Rishid comfortable...

Now they were all standing in the entrance of the KC Base. The crowd of people had parted in two in order to let the company of friends pass. Most people seemed indifferent but others seemed suspicious. The guards surrounding the company silenced everyone, however, and led them all to the exit of the Base.

"The ship is ready for departure. We must take you to Yango now." One of the guards told Marik, and the boy nodded silently. Would these people never leave him to a little peace?

Serenity was still in Ryou's arms, so she glanced at Marik from the corner of her eye. He seemed...changed, somehow. Even more serious than he had been. Even more troubled.

"Follow us." The guard said as he turned around and exited the Base. Ryou took one last look at the hordes of people around them before he walked outside in the by-now familiar long corridor. He found that Marik was too dazed to answer the question that he had been dying to ask, so Ryou turned to the girl who was walking in his embrace.

"Hey Serena..." he started and she immediately turned to look at him sweetly "Isn't this supposed to be a medical company? What are all these people doing here?" he asked and Serena grinned lightly.

"Well, space-bases like this one are also used as hotels. People often come here to stay for a while, and leave with the space bus that comes every three days...all funds are donated KaibaCorp, since KC owes this base, anyway...there are some sections used for the company, of course, like the..." her voice shook in an in voluntary shudder "lower levels."

Ryou nodded lightly and squeezed the girl in comfort. This signified the end of the conversation, and Ryou focused on stroking her auburn hair as they walked towards the ship at the end of the long, metallic corridor.

Walking at the end of the entire group were Marik and Rishid. None of them spoke to each other. They just rejoiced on the peace and quiet for a change.

That is, until Marik saw something move on his left. Immediately, he turned around to greet the sight of none other but the see-through image of the demonic spirit.

Marik's eyes widened in acknowledgement, and Bakura smirked lightly as he floated forward next to Marik. The spirit had his arms crossed as he watched the blonde boy try to ignore him. After all, the guards that were surrounding them could think he was crazy if he started talking to 'thin air'.

Marik saw Ryou turn around warily and give Bakura a reprimanding look. Yugi was too preoccupied with talking to Tea to notice the whole commotion. Bakura laughed cruelly all of a sudden, and Marik gave a well-hidden questioning look.

Bakura's red eyes motioned towards Ryou "He says he's gonna burn my ring if I don't go back in!" Bakura started shouting then, unheard to anyone but a few. "Go on and do it, Brightside! I'll be glad to die!!"

Ryou's eyes widened considerably, but he still didn't turn around to look at Bakura. Yugi, on the other hand, gave a puzzled stare. What was going on? When he saw the spirit floating beside Marik, he immediately understood. It was best not to pry, then. The spiky-haired boy turned back to Tea.

Meanwhile, Marik was pondering what Bakura had said. It was true...Bakura did seek death...But didn't the spirit ever think of what the rest of them would do if he died? He might have been alone once...but not any more. Now, there were people who knew him. People who would be crushed to see him die...'People like me' Marik thought in spite of himself 'Bakura is the first one who doesn't see me like some all-powerful prodigy...He's my friend.' The thought suddenly dawned on him as he turned to look at the spirit beside him.

Instantly, Bakura turned around and gave the blonde an utterly cruel glare. 'And I'm his friend.' Marik's beautiful eyes began to shine even more brightly at that realization. He suddenly noticed that of all the things Bakura could have been doing at that moment, he chose to come outside and stand beside Marik while he was walking. He chose to glare and talk to Marik...

'I'm his friend.' Marik repeated in his mind, his conscience crying out in utter disbelief. He eyed Bakura up and down, and was not at all shaken by that satanic bloodshot look. Instead...he was somewhat comforted by it.

"So I was right again." Bakura stated quite smugly "You CAN control Kaiba..."

At this, Marik gave a pensive stare. He couldn't really say anything, since people would hear him.

"Did you see him hold his head like that? What happens to me obviously happens to him too...His brain hurts when he tries to oppose you."

Marik nodded lightly, still staring forward nonchalantly. It was true. Kaiba had shown suffering. But it was still rare for Bakura to actually acknowledge his weakness.

"So Kaiba gave that little Yugi squirt the necklace huh?" Bakura reasoned "He obviously has something to do with these damned items..."

Marik simply nodded again, and stared forward, away from Bakura. The spirit was getting tired of talking to someone who wasn't looking directly at him, so it floated right in front of Marik.

The boy gasped lightly as he met Bakura's fiery eyes right in front of him. Bakura's smirking face was floating right in front of his eyes.

"So who do you think gave Ryou HIS necklace? Kaiba's granddaddy?"

Marik snorted lightly and gave Bakura a look that clearly said 'obviously'. Bakura took his turn to smirk. But both of them were startled when a voice echoed from their left.

"So, Master Marik, you never told me how life is in Mercury...Is it what you have hoped for?" Rishid asked from nearby, his green eyes hopeful for a positive response.

Marik saw Bakura's facial expression change to one of immense interest with his bloodshot gaze becoming sadistic. "Oh, yes, Mariku, do tell!!" Bakura said in a very sarcastic tone. Marik was seen glaring at thin air. He felt guilty for having the urge to hit Rishid.

Rishid never talked!! Why did it have to be NOW, about THAT subject, in front of Bakura!? Then again, Rishid did believe that he was walking alone with his master in the unnaturally long corridor. It was only logical to talk about their past.

Marik sighed, and turned a wary glance at Bakura. He'd have to choose his words carefully.

"Well..." Marik started, as he glanced at Rishid, trying to avoid Bakura's smirk at all costs. "Life as a scientist in KaibaCorp was pleasant...But then the problems started with the last operation" Marik was weary not to use the words 'Rewind 1', because it would surely make Bakura freak out.

"I wasn't talking about that sire...I only asked if you have found what you were looking for in KaibaCorp..." Rishid commented dryly. Marik watched Bakura's face furrow in concentration and sighed slowly.

"No, Rishid." The tanned boy started "I...KaibaCorp...wasn't the right choice for me. I didn't find a real scientific spirit in there... But I did find out about Kaiba's sick experiments...and swore I'd use everything in my knowledge to bring that bastard down."

"Wow." Bakura commented dryly, earning a glare from "So you've had your eye set on Kaiba for some time now, eh? What a good cause, pretty boy..."

But Rishid was not dropping the subject, and Marik was becoming desperate "But master, didn't you always say that it was the cause of your life to enter KaibaCorp' s memory banks and-fi"

"That's enough, Rishido! " Marik interrupted suddenly, watching Bakura narrow his eyes ominously in front of him "Let's talk about this some other time!" Marik finished and felt a bit guilty as he saw Rishid nod humbly.

'I'm sorry Rishid...' Marik thought sadly 'But I can't let Bakura know about it...I just can't...'

"I guess somebody doesn't want us to know about his past..." Bakura hissed into Marik's ear as he floated back to the blonde boy's side. The spirit was quite troubled. He had come this close to learning about Marik's secrets...this close! Maybe he should tell Marik he had seen the tattoo on his back and get it over with...

But no...Bakura wanted Marik to trust him by himself. He needed to hear the boy say it on his own. He wanted Marik to trust him. After all, he had trusted Marik with HIS secrets. Emotional secrets, mostly...Secrets Bakura didn't even know he had, until he met Marik.

'I'll learn everything there is to know about you, Mariku!' Bakura thought determinedly 'I'll be even more damned if I don't!'

As the company finally reached Kaiba's ship and started boarding, Bakura watched Marik's behavior. The boy had become uncharacteristically nervous ever since that little chat with Rishid...

Suddenly, a low grumbling sound echoed all around. Bakura turned a glare at Marik, who just shrugged and sent a pointed glance towards his stomach.

"That was your gut?" Bakura asked incredulously, earning an annoyed glance from Ryou, who had taken a seat nearby. "When did you last eat?" Bakura inquired.

Marik simply glared at the spirit and turned to one of the guards who were nearby. To Marik's fortune, she happened to be female.

"I'm sorry..." he started in his usual deep, suggestive tone. Bakura noted that the seducing techniques were up in turbo force "But...is there anything to eat in this vessel?"

**Please review this chapter, especially!! Tell me what you think about Marik in this fic! Tell me what you think of Bakura! PLEASE tell me, tell me, tell me!!!**

**(you can visit my comedy fics in ****I have the same penname over there...I promise they are good...but people are not reviewing them...aw...)**


	11. Filth

**Hiya, guys!!! I hope you enjoy this!!!! I've been lacking inspiration for months!!! So here you go, a little Xmas gift from me!!! Merry Christmas, everyone, and a happy New Year!!!!**

Pissed off was hardly a term to specify what Marik was feeling right now. Although it was Bakura who was notorious for his never-ending temper, it was now Marik who was pacing up and down the small lounge.

As expected, the KC ship had safely brought them back to Yango. Kaiba stayed true to his word and ordered not a hair of their head be touched. That did not change the facts, however…

And the facts were that now they were stranded in Marik's old house in Virna- back to where they'd started- left in the mercy of Kaiba's guards, who were surrounding the house from all directions at that very moment. Once they had reached Yango, the company of ten didn't even attempt to escape. It was futile, and they all knew it.

Thus, they had simply lowered their heads and allowed the KC guards to lead them to Marik's house, earning curious glances from locals the whole time.

The look of pure desperation on Yugi's face once he realized he had come back to the place he despised most of all was honestly pitiful. Lena, Rika and Tea seemed simply resigned to their fate and kept strangely silent the whole time.

As for Ryou and Serenity…they had been the most silent ones along with Marik and Rishido. Lost in thoughts they all were, each one plagued with their own mysterious problems. Dark Bakura had retreated in his Ring long ago, after Ryou's repeated pleas.

And now, finally, they had reached Marik's house and had sealed themselves inside as fast as they could. But Marik knew that this wouldn't last long. This was a hut, not a fortress, and there was no way out except the front door. There was a small backyard, but there was no alternate exit. Not only that, but their food supplies weren't that great. At least one of them would eventually have to exit the house…and consequently get blasted by one of the guards that were circling the place like bloodthirsty hyenas.

Strange and disappointing, that they had gone through so much only to find themselves back in the starting point, trapped worse than ever…

Marik pondered all this, as he absently stared out the small hole in the wall, which could hardly qualify for a window. Sitting on the sofas, at the other side of the room were the infamous albino, the spiky haired Yugi Mutou and ,of course, Serenity Wheeler.

Everyone was silent, lost in their own thoughts. The rest of the company was at the kitchen, possibly trying to wind off from all the stress. Not much time had passed, since the inevitable question was made by Serenity.

"Soo…what now? What do we do?" she asked simply, looking first at Marik and then at Ryou. The wise albino shrugged slowly and lazily scratched the back of his head. His brow furrowed in concentration.

"I think it's quite obvious at this stage that we have to get out of here…" he simply stated.

-No shit, Sherlock. – was heard the annoying voice of his Darkside in his mind –how long did it take you to think of that?-

Ryou, noble as he was, restrained himself from answering to that ironic sidecomment and turned his attention to Marik.

"Isn't there some kind of backdoor the KC guys can't possibly know about?" Ryou questioned, earning a thoughtful look from Marik.

"No…" the blonde left that statement trail on in a manner that wasn't exactly firm "There is no other way to leave the house except from the front door."

Serenity frowned slightly, a scowl shadowing her usually bright features "Well, what if we disguise again, or something? It worked last time, didn't it? We can easily pull one of those stunts…right?"

But Marik shook his head in refusal, much to Serena's chagrin.

"No do. The last time, the port guards had never seen us before…but now, the guards know us. They brought us here with their ship, remember? We can't fool them that easily."

Yugi suddenly perked up, obviously having come up with something "Hey! Wait a sec! What about that KC ship that brought us here? Maybe we can…commandeer it or something! Where is it now?"

Serenity smiled and ruffled Yugi's mop of hair affectionately. Yugi was still a teenager, after all. Not that she, herself, was much older.

"Time to stop living in Virtual Games, Yugi…" Serenity said quietly "You can't just 'take over' a spaceship…you need navigators, commanders, you need to know how to drive the specific ship…it's not that easy…"

Marik nodded slowly, as he finally turned away from the window.

"Not only that, Serena…Kaiba has probably ordered the ship get back to the Base already…He's much too smart to leave a ship here with us…He'll probably send some ship to take his people back once they are 'done' with us…"

Serenity simply gulped.

"Right."

Yugi leaned forward and supported his elbows on his knees, as he stared at the others.

"So…let's review. We're trapped in a house which we cannot exit…and even if we did somehow manage to get out of this place without getting shot by the guards, or arrested by the local authorities which are probably after us too by now, or skinned alive but some random thug we meet outside…we would have virtually no means of escaping the planet, which is coincidentally swarming with bounty hunters and all kinds of scum of the universe who coincidentally want off with all our heads, as you probably know already…am I right, so far?" Yugi asked.

It was a cruel truth, but it was the truth.

"Too right, Yugi." Ryou said as he let out a heavy sigh and fell back on the couch.

Marik also walked to a nearby armchair and sunk deep in it. "We have to find a way to get out of this place...without getting anyone hurt. I don't want no killings."

Serenity nodded in approval "I agree. I'm a doctor, not a scout. Being the good guys doesn't mean we can kill people for our good cause."

"Are we really the good guys?"

Yugi's question stilled the conversation, making everyone turn to him in surprise. The boy shrugged simply.

"Sorry guys. I didn't mean it that way…it's just that I hardly know anything about any of you…for all I know, you can be the bad guys."

Ryou stared at the boy in sheer disbelief. "Are you serious? As if the way Kaiba treated you in the Base wasn't proof enough of whom the bad guy really is??! He almost killed you, for God's sake! If it weren't for Marik, we'd all be dead by now!!"

Serenity blinked slowly, in confusion. "What do you mean, Ryou? What did Marik do?" Her eyes flew back to Marik's indifferent expression, which was fixed on Ryou.

'Damn…this is the last thing I need right now…more people asking more questions…How to explain everything to everyone? Damn…I don't even know what's wrong with me…they might start suspecting…damn!' Marik thought begrudgingly, as he watched Serenity and Yugi toss more confused questions.

Ryou was about to open his mouth, answer and solve all their problems once and for all, while Marik simply wished for a miracle to stop the upcoming revelations.

And curiously, the miracle came…in the uncanniest way ever.

Ryou's eyes suddenly flashed red.

It was as quick as lightning, and then the albino's eyes were back to the customary mahogany. But Marik had seen it. He had seen Ryou's hair spike up wildly, and he had seen the glint of something golden flash under Ryou's torn shirt. And now, no matter how hard Dark Bakura tried to hide his appearance in front of Serenity, Marik knew he was there…

'He came just when I needed him the most…again.' Marik unconsciously thought, as he watched Bakura recite the next words with Ryou's flawless calm voice.

"You know what, Serena? On second thought, forget about that…I'll tell you later. What is important now is finding a way out of this shack. Right Mariku?" Bakura turned towards the lithe blonde, granting Marik with a perfect view of unguarded, blood-red eyes.

"Mariku?" Serenity's curious voice abruptly interrupted. "Since when do you call Marik, 'Mariku', Ryou?"

Marik had a clear image of Bakura rolling his eyes upwards and cursing under his breath. Marik really had to restrain himself from laughing sadistically at the scene. Bakura had made a fool of himself- he had let his guard down!! And for Marik, nonetheless!! Marik just wanted to fly to the heavens from the sheer pleasure of the thought!! It seems like he had finally started stealing the attention of the one person he had always cared to distract!!

"Mariku? What Mariku? You must have misheard me, Serena…I said: we don't have time to talk. We have to find a way out!" Bakura covered up his slip up flawlessly, but Marik didn't fail to notice the suspicious look both Serenity and Yugi were granting the spirit right then. It seems that Yugi had not noticed the change in the albino yet, even though he could see the spirit.

"Well, I believe I deserve to know at least the basic information about the ones I'm traveling with, don't you agree? I'd like to know your story. Now." Came Yugi's curiously detached, sharp command.

Serenity eyed Yugi curiously due to his sudden lack of amiability, whilst Marik took some time to better examine 'Yugi'…It didn't come as a real surprise when 'Yugi' didn't turn out to be the huge-eyed, kind youngster that had a passion for spaceships…It was a lordly man with frosty eyes, as demanding and kingly as ever.

'I didn't even notice the change…I guess I've learned how to see the change in Ryou immediately…With Yugi it's a bit more tricky.' Marik pondered as he shared a look of perfectly concealed surprise with Bakura, who seemed to be having the same thoughts.

"Is…is something wrong?" Serenity's sweet voice interrupted, seemingly oblivious to the entire situation, but far from it actually. She had been capable to detect the change in her beloved Ryou immediately. But now…what was wrong with Yugi?

Seeing as Bakura looked just about ready to pounce on the Game King and crush his head between claws of death, Marik decided to save the situation while he still had time.

"I assure you we will tell you everything we know, Yugi…it's just…let's focus on getting out first." Marik reassured, earning a calculating look from Dark Yugi's part.

"You better be telling the truth, Marik. Coz I demand an explanation." And with a court nod and a simple blink of his eyes, instant mist had swooped over his body, and Yugi was once again the kind boy they had first met in Yango.

"Umm…" Yugi simply started, but was rudely interrupted by Bakura, who had immediately turned to Marik and seemed extremely intent.

"There's only one solution to the problem…" Bakura started, and Marik was sure he detected a certain evil glint in his eyes.

Marik narrowed his crystalloid eyes "Go on…I'm all ears."

Bakura smirked "We have to fight. Like we did back in Mercury with the ninjas, remember? That's the only way: wipe 'em out."

Marik shook his head dismissively and walked to the window, thus turning his back to the spirit in Ryou's body.

"Nah…This isn't like the ninjas in Mercury. Those were undercover, trained assassins…these guys here are serious. Guns, lasers, all kinds of shit…we can't just 'take 'em down'…" Marik voiced reason with heavy sighs.

"Wanna bet?" was the somewhat predictable answer from Bakura's part. Strangely enough, it was Serenity who answered.

"No, Ryou…we can't hurt people, remember? If we turn this into a blood-bath, we'll have more feds after us." Serenity didn't feel all that comfortable interacting with a spirit she knew nothing about…but, after all, Marik seemed to be able to talk to him directly, so…why couldn't she do the same?

Bakura turned around a little too abruptly for Serenity's comfort, and he mercilessly pierced the girl with his now bare, blood red stare.

"If that's what it takes then so be it!!…It's our only chance. Isn't the entire known universe after us, anyway?" Bakura argued vividly, forcing burning holes in Serenity's skull with his glaring eyes.

"You've got a point there, Bak…I mean, Ryou." Marik fought the urge to bash his own head on the wall because of his own stupidity. He watched the familiar albino turn back to look at him expectantly. "But let's not forget we're scientists, not marines." Marik concluded, making Bakura smirk.

"Your 'scientific' ministrations with the ninjas showed otherwise."

Marik's eyes narrowed at the leer, as he clearly recognized the glint in the other's eye. He opened his mouth to respond, but was once again interrupted by Serenity. This conversation was becoming quite tiring.

"Do we have to kill people?" Serenity questioned persistently and this time Bakura made absolutely no attempt to restrain his frustrated sigh. Marik really had the feeling that Bakura was controlling his temper with Serenity's attitude only for the sake of his Brightside's reputation.

"Look." Bakura started with what vaguely seemed like an attempt to be kind and understanding, but failing miserably "We don't necessarily HAVE to KILL people, okay? But what you have to understand is that if we don't kill them, they're gonna kill us. This can only mean one thing: live and let die. We'll avoid hurting them if we can. Happy now?"

Serenity was thunderstruck, that was the only way to put it. It wasn't as though Bakura had really hurt her feelings…she was just surprised by the sudden…forwardness…of his character. Ryou was so different…so subtle…so compassionate…so democratic…

And as for Bakura, he didn't wait to hear the girl's answer. He turned around in total, heartless disinterest and immediately addressed Marik and Yugi. Marik truly felt sorry for the girl and for everybody else unfortunate enough to cross Bakura's path. But then again, the realization that he was perhaps one of the few people who had totally gained Bakura's …well…respect, at least…made him…proud. The sheer thought burst a strange bubble of excitement in Marik's chest. Although he kept feeling guilty about being so full of himself all of a sudden, he just couldn't help savoring the way he had repeatedly managed to get Bakura to shower him with attention. He just couldn't help the feeling of…triumph?!

"What do you say? How about we surprise them at dawn, or something?" Bakura offered with the look of a weasel who is building a dirty plan- which wasn't all that far from the truth, actually…

Marik tapped on his chin as a gesture of meditation. Finally, he spoke. "I say we wait one more day. Then, tomorrow or the day after, we can do it. That way, we'll be better prepared…at the moment, we don't even have a ship or something…"

Bakura nodded slowly. "Right though you may be, pretty bo---…I mean, you may be right, Marik, but we're running out of supplies. Fast. And no ships come to Virna, remember?"

"Wait a sec!!" was heard the familiar melodic voice. Serenity had found her way in the conversation yet again. Marik was seriously starting to believe that the girl really was a glutton for punishment, or something. Bakura looked ready to strangle her, for goodness sake!!

"Didn't you say that Kaiba's gonna bring a ship to pick up his people after they're 'done' with us?"

Marik and Bakura exchanged glances, curious at Serenity's self-satisfied expression.

"Yeah…and your point is…?" Bakura questioned simply, with a gaze that clearly showed Serenity just how seriously he took her suggestions…not.

Serenity smiled brightly, nonetheless… "All we have to do is make them think we're dead. Then Kaiba will send a ship to pick up his goons and we can immobilize them then…we'll take their pod and escape to Earth in no time!"

At this point all three other boys simply blinked. Even Bakura, was speechless.

"Uh…cool plan Serenity…" Yugi simply commented, after the surprised silence.

"Thanks!!" Serenity answered cheerfully "That way, no one has to get killed! All we have to do is knock them out, ditch them here and steal their ship. Right?"

"Cool!!" Yugi agreed excitedly. "Sounds convenient! Now all we have to do is organize it carefully…"

From the sidelines, Marik turned to Bakura.

"Why didn't I think of that, again?" Marik inquired numbly.

Bakura simply smirked and quietly commented "Looks like Brightside has a good taste in women, after all."

After all four friends had decided to follow the course of action Serenity had suggested; Marik excused himself in order to take a long-awaited bath. Since Serenity and the others had already taken care of that, they stayed in the lounge and tried to forget their sorrows by talking about something 'light' and simple….a.k.a. virtual reality games.

Ryou seemed intent on learning anything he could about this kind of thing, and the King of Games was more than willing to demonstrate his in-depth knowledge about all kinds of different game strategies.

When they had finally gotten bored of that subject, Serenity asked Yugi the question she had been agonizing to ask for some time.

"So, Yugi…you don't like fighting, do you?" Serenity asked, referring to the conversation they'd all had earlier that evening.

Yugi shook his head in refusal "Nah…I don't want people getting hurt, you know? But…"

Serenity raised a curious eyebrow, while Ryou stayed silent a listener.

"But?" Serenity probed further.

"But…if I had to fight in order to get away from this place…" Yugi raised his huge, pure eyes to stare deep into hers "…I would do it. My dreams are out there…and I'll do anything to find them…"

And Serenity knew he meant it, for she saw his spirit shine through his determined eyes…She knew he would do it…for his dreams. To get away from this place…to discover new worlds…

Joey had dreams too.

Joey…

------------------------------------Flashback-----------------------------------

"What's that, big brother?"

His deep brown eyes sparkled with dark glint…as dark as the darkest chasm of earth, the color of the coconut's shell, dried-up lava that has converted to the deepest amber-brown. And his skin, hard and callous, sunkissed mocha, matched only by his corn, hay-golden hair.

A son of the Earth, grown to be the rarest gift of the Earth's core. Brought up from the fullest, healthiest soil- bent and formed into his shape by the currents of wind that shuffle and shake the ground! That was her brother – whipped by the scourges of nature, a body forged in a Volcano. Eyes deep and natural enough to compare to the cracks on the ground after an Earthquake, nails wide and clear to resemble the claws of a hawk- that was her brother. The Son of Earth- wild, free, natural.

"It's a drawing. A dragon."

And his voice, the rumble of the rocks before a rockslide- raining down in deep waves, crashing down on silent reality, matching the fire of his being.

" A dragon? Okaaaaay…So, why does it have red eyes?"

And his touch on the girl's cheek…he didn't have those disgusting things on his arms then…it was hard and painful- his touch. It was like the feeling of skin sliding over dry rock- insistent and somewhat painful, but curiously cool, and pleasant.

"Because I like red."

She giggled "Liar! I know you hate red. You say the Catacombs are red."

"Exactly! Do you know why the Catacombs are red?"

"…um…because they're on fire…?"

"Yes. The Catacombs are on fire…Imagine a Dragon, with the Catacombs in his heart, and ship-metal on his skin."

"…The Catacombs in his heart? But how can he have the whole place in his heart!?! It doesn't fit….right, big brother!? The Catacombs are huge. "

"Yes…but all Catacombs are the same, right? All the Catacombs are Red, because fire is everywhere. So even though the Catacombs are huge…all you have to do is take a small part and you have the whole thing."

"…I still don't get it…"

"…Look at the picture. What do you see?"

"…It's…it's a big black lizard with red eyes. That's what I see."

"Well then, that's what it is. It's a Black Lizard with Red Eyes."

"…But…but didn't you just say that the fire was in his heart and that the metal of the ships was on his skin?"

"…I did, didn't I?"

"…Big brother, stop kidding around! You said it was all that- you did! But then you said it was a dragon! And then you said it was something else!!"

"It is a dragon, then. And it has fire in its heart and coal-metal on its skin. And it's a lizard with red eyes and black body. It is all of these things. It is what you see in it."

"…So it's a DRAGON. D-R-A-G-O-N. "

"Exactly what I was saying. It's a Black Dragon with Red Eyes, which breaths fire and flies like a spaceship with its metallic wings…"

"You changed it again!!"

"So what do you think, Seren? Imagine a world with flying beasts like this one! Imagine a Swordsman wreathed in flames, riding the birds of fire! Can you imagine it?"

"…Big brother, what does 'wreathed' mean?…"

"…One day, I'll show you. I'll show you that world…"

"H-Hey, big brother…"

"..One day, I'll show Mai that the stories of the Valkyries and the Amazons that her grandma tells her are true…and maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll make her believe in them again…I'll show her- I'll surely show her-"

"BOY!!! GET YOUR SORRY ASS OVER HERE! WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!!"

--------------------------------------End Flashback-------------------------------------------

"Hey, Serena! You okay? What's wrong?!" The albino's worried form bent over the girl on the couch. "Quick! Yugi, get her some water or something!!! Damn this 25th century!! I don't even know first aid!"

The spiky haired boy rushed to the kitchen, leaving Ryou to take care of an abnormally pale Serenity.

"What just happened?" Ryou questioned anxiously, holding the girls hand tightly clasped between his own two.

Serenity smiled somewhat shakily.

"N-Nothing…I…I just had a bad-"

"Here's your water!!!" Yugi shouted, as he entered the lounge suddenly. He ran to Ryou and gave him the small glass. Serenity smiled in gratitude as she drank the essence of life hastily. The two boys watched her somewhat worriedly, and only when she paused to reassure them she was all right did they seem to lighten up a bit.

Ryou, however, was not completely placated. He watched the girl he loved silently, as she finished her drink.

"Serenity, what's wrong? Are you sick or something?" Yugi idly wondered.

Serenity shook her head in refusal. "Nope…just tired." And then she turned to Ryou with those completely…serene…amber eyes. Everything was oddly calm and quiet, until Ryou's voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Yugi…could you please leave us for a while? " came Ryou's noble but also strangely commanding voice. He was set on discovering what was bothering Serenity, and that was that.

-Are you sure this is the smart thing to do, Brightside? Alone with her?! She might rape you…- Bakura commented from within Ryou's mind, only to earn a furious telepathic shout, which, curiously but effectively, shut him up.

"Uh…sure, Ryou. See you guys later…" Those were Yugi's last words before the boy exited the room. He seemed very glad to leave on the first place. Maybe it was because he could feel the tension growing between the albino and the girl.

Ryou followed the other boy briefly and watched the door close behind him. He stayed silent for a moment while leaning on the door with his back turned to Serenity.

She gulped. Suddenly, knots were twisting in her stomach and her heartbeat was erratic. As if the not-so-pleasant flashback she just had wasn't enough, now she was left alone with Ryou… She stole a quick glance at him and immediately turned back to the floor when she saw him turn around.

And then, the inevitable question came.

"All right, Serena. You know you can trust me with anything. Now tell me what that was all about." Ryou's deep mahogany eyes questioned.

Serenity tried to bite back a bitter comment about the fact that he didn't trust her as much as he claimed. If he really did, then he would tell her about his secret spirit. Suddenly, all these feelings of betrayal and loneliness hit her full force, in combination with the initial shock of her flashback.

The customary unbearable guilt about Joey mingled in the mix, intensifying the general feeling of unworthiness in the girl's heart. And then again, those eyes were staring at her. Those eternally innocent eyes…how could they ever know how filthy she really was!?

It was that which hurt her the most- the fact that Ryou admired her and believed her to be some sort of angel who had saved him from certain death…when in truth, she was nothing more than a dirty, petty, insignificant scientist who had sucked up to the worst people possible in order to become what little she was…And she had betrayed her family too.

As Ryou watched her expectantly, Serenity felt the lump in her throat grow. How could he be so naïve? How could he be so compassionate? Why couldn't he just let her rot in her little cage, withdrawn and abandoned form the rest of the world?! Why did he always have to pick holes in her arguments- why did he have to care!?!?

The boy repeated his last question in apprehension and Serenity was shaken back to the real world- she had to answer. But then again, she suddenly realized, she didn't want to answer- she didn't feel worthy of talking to him any more.

"You think I'm so perfect, don't you?" she merely stated, glaring at him with a most unfamiliar, unusual look. Ryou was puzzled. What was wrong with Serena- one moment she seemed desperate and the other she was angry. He wondered whether it had been a bad choice to talk to her, after all.

"Serena…what are you talking about?" he simply asked, "I just asked why you passed out."

Serenity didn't answer; she merely slumped down on the couch and smiled somewhat bitterly, gazing at the floor. Had one approached her at that time, they would certainly see the soft tears that were forming in her eyes.

"I know…" her voice broke "I know that…"

Ryou's eyes widened, and like a tornado he rushed to his beloved's side. With not a moment's hesitation, he gathered her small form in his arms and tenderly swept away a couple of her loose auburn bangs to look clearly into her eyes.

Liquid amber jewels blinked tentatively back at him.

Ryou was not stupid. He knew that Serenity got this way only with things that had to do with the lost brother she had told him about. Judging from her now wet cheeks and the names she had been crying in her sleep before…the situation definitely had to do with her brother.

"Shhh…" he soothed gingerly, and buried his long digits in her soft hair. The girl let go of her restrains and fell into his warm embrace, sobbing quietly the whole time.

Ryou smiled a slow, serene smile and ran his hand over her silky hair.

"If it's about your brother…we'll search together for him on Earth…We'll surely find him! Don't blame yourself- it's not your fault…" he simply said, closing his eyes and leaning against her head.

Curiously, his words not only didn't comfort Serenity, but they made her cry harder. She shook her head frantically in blind denial and tried to escape the boy's arms, suddenly feeling filthy and unworthy of his touch.

"No..No, you don't- you don't understand…" she tried to say, unaware of how her words really hurt the boy "It's not- it's not only about J-Joey…it's it's….Oh, God…"

And as she tried to tell him about the real guilt that was eating at her, she realized she didn't want him to know. She didn't want him to realize she wasn't his angel. She didn't want him to know she was one of the mere scientists who had treated him as a lab specimen. She didn't want him to know…didn't want to lose his affection.

She knew that once she opened her mouth and the next words came out…the arms around her would disappear and the innocent eyes that now looked at her with blind admiration would turn hurt and betrayed.

And she didn't want it. She couldn't bear to look at Ryou's confused face as he'd watch her stutter pathetically. She couldn't look at his honest eyes as she would finally tell him the truth and ring the bell of her doom.

But it was too late now. The phrase had already started…and before she knew it, it was out of her mouth.

"…I'm not who you think I am!! I'm not- I'm no…I'm no perfect angel!!" she pathetically admitted, as she fought to escape Ryou's grasp "I…I never saved you…I was –I was one of those who tried to hurt you…"

Ryou merely ceased to move, finally focusing on what she was trying to tell him. His sudden action mysteriously terrified Serenity, who was worried that he had started hating her already. She started crying even louder now.

"But- but you must believe me, Ryou….It changed! Everything changed! Wh-When I met you….and I…"

Ryou took her shoulders in his hands and shook her lightly. "Serena…what are you trying to tell me?" he simply asked, his brown eyes never once slipping away from her face. Guilty amber orbs finally rose to look at him, and he frantically tried to search for the source of the girl's discomfort.

Serenity tried to take a couple deep breaths and continued "It…It was an operation…in KaibaCorp, about two weeks ago…I had just been assigned as Kaiba's right hand scientist…"

Ryou's innocent eyes widened "Kaiba…as in, the guy who's chasing us!?"

Serenity nodded slowly, her eyes straying at the ground "Me and Marik and everyone else…we all worked there…but-but I didn't know they were conducting illegal experiments on humans…I-I…"

She sighed and tried to calm down, while Ryou tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling that had started to grow in his stomach.

"…And…?" he urged.

"The first day I was assigned to organize a top secret operation called…'Rewind 1''

The moment she said that, Ryou felt something cold run up his spine and into his lungs, choking him. The frigid thoughts that ran frantically through his mind were not his…they belonged to Bakura…But why was Bakura so aware of the conversation all of a sudden?

"Rewind 1…I've heard that name over and over again, but…I don't know what it means…is it really an operation?" he asked in concern. Serenity nodded seriously, her sobs somehow restrained for the sake of informing Ryou.

"Yes…I didn't know what it was about at the time…but soon I understood…That sick bastard, Kaiba, has been taking federal convicts and conducting illegal experiments on them in order to develop new medication and stuff…The Rewind series were operations dedicated in trying to turn people young…They all failed….except the last one…"

Serenity left that statement trail on, turning a guilty, hesitant look over to Ryou's now considerably numb face. She felt guilt and sorrow claw at her insides and tried to talk again.

"I-I…" the tears were falling fast now, and Ryou, predictably, was too numb to do anything about it

"I was never an angel that saved you from death, Ryou…I…I was the top scientist, who, along with…with others, surveyed the operation…The-They brought in an old prisoner, one who'd been convicted in the 21st century because he was considered to be schizophrenic….They had put him in a cryogenic capsule at the end of the 21st century because the old age he had reached was considered a historic achievement…K-Kaiba wanted to turn him young again…with this new substance they'd found…"

Ryou's eyes widened in apprehension, all the time Bakura's frozen anxiety running through his veins. Serenity let out a final, choked sob

"It was you, Ryou!! Kaiba used you as a sick experiment! And I…I helped him!! I know you hate me now…Say it!! Say you hate me!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and tried to bash her hand on his shoulder, but he stopped her.

With a kiss.

And as Serenity's brain functions shut down, her eyes refused to close and stayed wide open, staring numbly at Ryou's closed ones. A soft thumb climbed over her cheek and wiped away her tears. The warmth around her intensified, as the soft, full lips over her own seemed to cover her entire essence, nullifying her body functions, making her drown in need.

Ryou pulled away finally and stared deep in the girl's wide, perplexed eyes.

"I love you"

It was sincere, honest and calm and deep and pure, just like Ryou's heart. Like Ryou's eyes. Like Ryou's soul. Everything was displayed there in front of her: all his feelings. Numbly, Serena realized, that she could not spot even a trace of the fear of rejection that most males usually had. Ryou obviously didn't care whether or not his feelings were reciprocated….all he wanted was for her to know…

She couldn't speak.

Ryou smiled calmly and pulled the girl gently against his body. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, shutting his eyes and rejoicing in the incomparable sense of warmth and comfort that their finally joined bodies seemed to radiate.

"Why?" she simply inquired, her voice a bit muffled form his clothing "Didn't you…didn't you hear what I just said…?"

Ryou smiled again and opened his eyes slowly, staring soundly at the wall. "I know what you said…but I also know what you did, when Kaiba threatened to kill me, when Kaiba called me a guinea pig…when they said I was a lunatic…besides…it still feels as though you saved me that day…"

Serenity blinked in confusion, her heart starting to flutter with a feeling she hadn't felt in a long, long time: self –appreciation. Ryou loved her. He LOVED her. How could he be so…so…wise? Perhaps it was because of his old age…it didn't really matter, any more, though. All that mattered was that he loved her.

"I…I love you too." She quietly acknowledged, smiling. "More than anyone else in this world." She said a bit louder, smiling at him with an extremely rare, extremely peaceful smile. This feeling of being truly loved by someone…she had only felt it once- with her only brother Joey. And now Ryou, that same brotherly figure that had gradually taken so many other shapes in her mind.

It was confusing, really, the ways she loved Ryou. She loved him as the family she was denied and the friend she'd never had. And yet, it wasn't like that…he was her lifesaver, her anchor. She could never survive away from him for too long, for he was all she ever truly had. A brother, a friend, a soon-to-be, lover…everything…

The one she loved, Ryou.

This time, when Ryou leaned down to capture her lips in a chaste, sweet kiss, she let her eyes close in bliss.

* * *

And now he had it. The missing link. 'Rewind 1'.

Blood-dipped red orbs sparkled in the darkened room. Since nights were cold in Yango, Bakura's breath formed a trail in the cold air. Silver, long strands swept over the bed, as Bakura stood up. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't stay in his Ring, either.

After the romantic happenings of the afternoon, Ryou had bid Serenity good night and both had gone to sleep in separate rooms. Now, with Ryou sleeping in the back of his mind, Bakura set out to relieve his sensitive nerves.

Too much energy. That was his problem.

He had learned so much, so unexpectedly. He had finally learned what Rewind 1 was from the strangest source and at the oddest time possible. The fact that Marik had not trusted him with these invaluable pieces of information all along unconsciously ate at Bakura…Why? Why hadn't Marik trusted him with this crucial info? Maybe…maybe Marik generally didn't trust him, or lied to him…Maybe…Maybe Marik was just using him, like…like…the others…After all, Marik hadn't said anything about the scar on his back either…He just didn't trust Bakura, as it seemed.

Well, those thoughts were quite confusing. Everything was crashing down on the spirit at that moment, and so he decided to do what he always did in order to unwind. Take Ryou's body for a walk. It always felt good to feel alive, after all. Even if it were just temporary.

Bakura had nasty overnight experiences with this specific house, since the last time he'd stumbled upon a half-naked Marik with a huge scar on his back. Therefore, he simply decided a walk outside was in order. Since he couldn't exit the house in fear of getting shot by the ever-present KC guards, he'd have to pay a visit to the backyard, the existence of which he had only recently discovered.

If he was lucky, he would have some time to think things through. The recent revelations about Rewind 1, in combination with the happenings at KC Base and Marik's stubborn refusal to talk about it, left more questions. And Bakura hated questions. He hated being left in the dark…especially by a certain smart-ass, blond, pretty-boi!

The spirit distantly noticed that the corridor where the unfortunate events with Marik's back had transpired last time was not lit- it was dark. Marik was probably sleeping, then. Although Bakura had a vibrant, sadistic urge to go torture Marik in his sleep, he fought it, and turned to the back door.

It was made of glass and opened automatically when he approached. The sudden wave of cold air that hit him as he stepped outside served to remind him in the worst way possible that he was in Ryou's living body, not in his unfeeling spirit form. Shivering involuntarily, Bakura made his way around the small garden. He observed the strange, alien blue flowers planted here and there and idly wondered whether Rishid had a secret passion for gardening. Or maybe it was the house's cleaning girl, Tea. Yes…that did sound more like her disturbingly cheery personality.

Bakura couldn't find himself to be too irritated, however. The night may have been very cold but almost any kind of feeling was welcome for the Undead, even an unpleasant one- as long as it could help him feel alive.

The garden smelled of a sweet odor that the blue flowers emitted and Bakura found the chance to relax a bit. He didn't have the strength to further occupy himself with thoughts of Rewind 1. It brought shivers up his spine, for some reason. Yet another annoying element- he was slowly losing control. He couldn't afford letting feelings show. Not to anyone.

And Marik Ishtar had come very close to shattering that rule of his; unfortunately…Hmm…He'd have to keep that in check from now on…Marik could be considered dangerous- even for a spirit. Not dangerous with the literal sense…more like suave, which was indirectly dangerous. Bakura had grown good in reading people after years of practice, but he still could not understand Marik, however. Now that little detail alone said something: Marik was special.

First there was that element of undeniable, suffocating charm that Marik possessed and Bakura always pretended not to notice. Naturally, Bakura didn't have physical urges for he was a spirit….he was not blind, however, to the dazed looks Marik kept receiving from every single person- even the most unlikely. Tea, for example never missed a chance to display her undying affection for Yugi…But whenever Marik turned to speak to her, she would always get that strange, dizzy look- as though drunk- and speak a quiet reply.

Bakura smiled. Even Ryou. Bakura was constantly aware of his Brightside's thoughts and many a time had he detected in Ryou's unconscious thoughts a certain praising appreciation for Marik's flawless, incredible taste in clothing or the tropical depth of Marik's smell as he walked nearby. It didn't necessarily have to mean that Tea and Ryou were in love with Marik, it just proved Bakura's point: that even the most unlikely individuals were periodically, if not constantly, drawn to Marik's surreal charm.

Then there was that other element in that boy's character: the power to read and manipulate people without even realizing it. THAT was the most dangerous thing about Marik. Bakura had learned it the hard way, since he had been too engrossed with trying to find smart comebacks for Marik's idle chats that he had failed to notice that the tanned blonde had been gaining more and more room into his thoughts with every single innocent chat.

Like now, for example. Why was he sitting in the middle of a cold garden, thinking about Marik? Had the blonde really spawned his killing-charm so deep in Bakura's mind?! How? Why?

With a feral growl, Bakura stood up from his sitting position. No. He refused sitting there and thinking about Marik for another two seconds. He had to fight that stupid urge. Bitterly, he wondered how many girls had sat and dreamed about Marik during cold nights. He suddenly felt disgusted with himself, for some reason. Was he really that easy a target? How could he let Marik get so deep under his skin?

No. No way. He was getting out of here. And from tomorrow morning, he would keep himself in check on a permanent basis. He would not let Marik- or anyone else for that matter- have their way with him. He was Bakura, and he demanded respect!!

…that was the only thing a dead man could ever have…

As the spirit in Ryou Bakura's stood to leave, he let his bloodshot eyes roam over the territory. Unexpectedly, he spotted something of interest that he had not seen before. In the back of the garden there was a part on the ground that was not covered with dirt. It was like a wooden block.

Bakura approached stealthily and narrowed his eyes. He could not see so well in the dark but he could have sworn it was a trapdoor. A wooden trapdoor.

Now what was a wooden trapdoor doing in a secluded part of Marik's hut's backyard in Yango?

Bakura had a talent for smelling trouble, as he had with many other things. Thus, he almost automatically knew that succumbing to his curiosity would not lead to a very comfortable situation.

But then, as he decided upon going back inside and ignoring the unknown, all the thoughts from before came back to him. The way Marik never trusted him with things, the way he had let himself slip more than once in more than one ways, the way people kept ignoring his existence as if the Great Bakura was not something of importance…

No. He would not be left in the dark anymore. It was time to take the situation in his own two hands. If Marik wouldn't tell him, he would have to learn by himself.

With the stealth of a feline, Bakura took hold of the trapdoor's metallic handle. He tried to be silent about it and carefully pulled the door open. Thinking that he didn't want any unpleasant surprises, Bakura closed the doors behind him, after he'd descended in the dark crypt.

Blood-red eyes drowned in the dark as the deep sound of the door being closed echoed around. Bakura blinked and tried to take full credit of his surroundings. It was a dark, leaking crypt- that much was clear. As Bakura tried to follow the hollow dark path, he grabbed the walls to stabilize himself and felt something moving beneath his fingers.

Flinching involuntarily, Bakura pulled his hand away. Great. Slimy insects. What next?

Trying to walk straight without touching the walls, Bakura followed the dark corridor, which finally came to a right turn. The spirit was now sure he was located somewhere beneath Marik's house. Sounds of dripping water sounded from the cavern's wet walls.

As Bakura walked forward, he spotted a light at the far end of the crypt. Feeling slightly more optimistic about the situation and with growing curiosity, Bakura walked steadily toward the light.

A little later, Bakura found himself a mere three feet away from the doorway to the bright spotlight. He was about to make a stride when he heard something. It was definitely _not _an insect. It was a human murmur. Human.

Bakura suddenly became very aware of what was happening and the predicament he had brought himself in. He had sneaked in an secret underground maze, where another person was secretly located. Could it be someone he knew? Could it be a prisoner that Marik kept in here? In that case, was Marik one of the bad guys?! What was happening?

With trepidation he never knew he was still capable of experiencing, Bakura gingerly leaned in to barely see the inside of the bright room.

He gasped.

A round chamber with tall, ominous, stonewalls. Carved in them were huge symbols -like hieroglyphics. Each symbol had its own special image, and they all glowed with an eerie blue light. That's where all the light was coming from: glowing, ancient-like symbols on the walls.

And in the middle of the room lay motionlessly a figure bathed in pale blue light. Long hair glittered with that silvery shine and dark, lean skin seemed creamier and more intoxicating than any other time.

Marik.

He only had a dark tunic wrapped around his waist and his back exposed. There was no jewelry, leaving the swan neck and the lean arms fully bare and free. Bakura was speechless, since his throat suddenly felt dry. He could only stand there, staring at the heavenly picture in front of him, wondering what was that feeling that threatened to burst his heart, making him feel more alive than any other time.

Marik was sitting on his knees with his back turned to Bakura and facing the symbols on the walls. Bakura numbly watched, as Marik seemed to murmur something in that deep, exotic baritone of his. And then, the blonde boy bent and reached to touch his back.

Bakura followed each movement with a curiously salivating mouth as Marik traced the patterns of the scars on his back. That was only when Bakura was urged to notice that the black-painted scars on the boy's back were identical to the ones on the wall.

What…what was going on here?

Bakura felt his breath catch, and he never realized he'd been holding it.

The spirit just stood there, afraid to move, afraid to breathe. All the thoughts from before escaped his mind. The way Marik never seemed to really trust him, the way Marik had used him…now nothing mattered. Nothing at all, except that soft blonde hair that cascaded down the other boy's back and those heavenly, slow movements.

Bakura idly wished he could stay there forever and just look at what he was seeing now. The seriousness of the situation didn't faze him one bit. The fact that Marik could have just turned around and seen him staring like that didn't seem so impending all of a sudden. Bakura actually wished he could see the other boy's face.

The negative feelings that had come the last time he'd seen those scars were not there any more, and, although Bakura wondered what was the connection between the scars on Marik's back and the hieroglyphics on the walls, he dismissed it for later.

The soft curve of Marik's half-exposed hip was much more interesting at that point. Bakura wondered whether it was because he was in Ryou's body that he suddenly had…urges…As a spirit, he had never felt such things before. All he ever felt was cold. Freezing, lonely, cold.

But…Marik was warm. The boy's soft breaths, his juicy, tropical skin…Bakura took a silly wager that if he dared bite that mocha-cream crook on Marik's neck, all kinds of oriental, deep oils would come out and drip down…on Marik's perfectly sculptured, taut chest.

"Ahh…" came a pathetic little whimper, and Bakura was shaken from his trance in the harshest way possible. Marik had obviously touched a particularly soft spot on his back and had hurt himself. Now he had fallen pathetically on the floor and was whimpering like a child.

Unaware of his own movements, Bakura walked silently towards Marik's fallen figure. He ignored the fact that he was now seeing the scars up close- closer than he had ever been before. He could even smell that almost tangible, jasmine odor that came out of Marik's entire body.

Only when Bakura felt the scorching contrast of Marik's warm skin against his own cold did he realize what he was doing.

But it was too late. He had already grasped Marik's arm to help the boy stand up.

The blonde, beautiful head turned to him and he found himself facing glittery, wide, dilated lavender eyes.

"BAKURA!" came the inevitable, terrorized cry. "What are you doing here?"

The spirit didn't even have time to understand what was happening, much less react. He felt the warm skin pull away quickly from his grasp and he saw Marik as he frantically fumbled with his cloak, trying to pull it up and, obviously, cover his back.

"Mariku…" Bakura attempted to speak, but Marik didn't seem to hear him.

"You didn't see, you didn't see, you'll never see…" he kept murmuring, as he cowered away from Bakura and against the closest wall, as if hoping that he could hide his back from Bakura's sight. No use, though. The harm had been done a long time ago.

Bakura approached slowly and somewhat confusedly. Why was Marik so frantic? What was going on?

Marik covered himself totally with his cloak and tried to make a dash for the exit of the chamber, but he found he was stuck between the wall behind him, and Bakura, who was approaching predatorily.

"B-Bakura…" Marik whispered tensely, as he brought both hands in a defense stance over his chest. But Bakura's unforgiving eyes were relentless. Now he was angry. Not only did Marik not trust him, now he was trying to fool him again!! Well no way! Tonight he was getting what he wanted, one way or another!!

"Don't- Don't come any closer!!" Marik squeaked pathetically, but it was no use. Why wasn't Bakura obeying him like any other time? Could it be it was because he didn't really mean what he was ordering?

Bakura effectively closed the gap and trapped Marik against the wall by putting his arms at both sides next to Marik's head. The blonde's eyes widened ominously and Bakura felt some sort of pleased happiness at seeing beautiful Marik look at him with that pleading look. He felt Marik's long-fingered hands press insistently against his chest in a gesture of restraint.

"P-Please….Bakura….don't-"

But Bakura pressed against Marik's hands, thus trapping the other completely in a suffocating position. Imagine Bakura's surprise when he felt a sudden shove coming from Marik. With strange strength, Marik had managed to push Bakura away and was now running towards the exit .

"Oh no you don't!" Bakura simply barked and ran behind Marik. He grabbed the poor boy's arm soon after and pulled Marik towards him harshly. Marik, naturally, kept thrashing around frantically- a thing he had been doing more and more often lately.

"NO! LET GO OF ME! DON'T! DON'T!!" Marik cried when Bakura fisted his free hand on Marik's tunic.

"DON"T!!!" Marik now screamed, as the sound of ripping fabric was heard. Then silence.

Bakura blinked coldly and released his hold on Marik, who fell numbly to his knees soon after. The spirit fought the feeling of guilt inside his heart with the excuse that he had merely done what was necessary.

Marik was just sitting there, on his knees in front of Bakura, staring vacantly at the ground. He wasn't even blinking.

Bakura swallowed dryly at the heartbreaking sight of the lovely boy behaving so…blankly.

"Mariku!" he said, trying to sound harsh and softly nudging Marik's knee with his foot, as though to wake him up. "Oi, Mariku!!" he shouted again, this time with more concern.

All right. Now he fell really guilty. Marik wasn't even moving…didn't even seem to be breathing.

"Are you happy now?" Marik suddenly asked, the poisonous malice evident in his voice. "Now that you've stripped me of all things decent, are you happy, Bakura? Are you?"

Marik had stood up again and had brought his face so close to Bakura's that the other could even spot those small dark flecks of unknown color in Marik's eyes.

Bakura's heart sunk. Now THIS felt awful.

"What the hell are you talking about, Mariku?" he chose to be as calm as possible.

Marik clearly seethed. "Don't act like you don't know! I know what you think of me now!! So you wanted to see it, did you? Well here you go! SEE IT!! ENJOY MY SHAME, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!!!"

And with those last words, Marik turned around, granting Bakura a full, close-up view of the deep black scars marking his back. Curiously, now that he was so close, Bakura didn't feel at all inclined to look at the other's back, and turned his face away instead.

They stayed like that for a while, silent and unmoving, until a soft sound was heard. A whimper.

Bakura turned his eyes back to Marik's now tense form in alert, and watched as the other's shoulders shook with sobs.

Bakura was speechless, lost as of what to do, trapped in a whirlpool of emotions. And so, when Marik disregarded all caution and merely gave in to his sobs, Bakura could only stand there, motionless, numb, and guilty.

Marik unexpectedly fell to the ground on his knees again, covering his face with both hands and allowing Bakura a full view of his tense, shaking back. When had this situation come so out of hand, Bakura didn't know. He had lost track in Marik's diamond eyes.

Marik's choked words mingled with the sobs here and there, and Bakura honestly didn't know what to do. He didn't want to listen, but he didn't want to stop Marik either. This feeling of guilt was just so…alien, to him…so strange and unknown.

The feeling of watching the proud, sly, beautiful boy break down in front of him. Wasn't Marik always seductive and smart? Wasn't he the one everyone looked up to and loved? Where had all the glamour gone, now? Who was that helpless, sobbing child in front of him? Surely it could not be the same person…even though such an assumption would give Marik's character a much more human, much more sentimental side…

"I…" sobbed the boy "I…thought I…and now you'll hate me…but I…tried…to hide…didn't want you to see…how dirty I am….like a cow…marked from the shepherd…now…you'll…you'll…hate me…Bakura…"

Bakura stayed put, not daring to make a move so as not to do anything wrong. He only listened carefully to Marik's ranting.

"I'm so…ugly…now you'll always think…I'm…ugly…such a helpless little baby…I bet…I bet that's what you're thinking…right?…Bakura…"

Where was all this insecurity coming from? Seeing Marik act so….humanly weak was certainly not what he'd been prepared for...but it was actually what he'd been hoping to see, someday. To prove that he wasn't the only one with problems…to prove that Marik was human, after all…

Bakura finally thought he'd take matters into his own two hands. Slowly, he walked around Marik's crying form and settled on his knees across from the other boy.

Marik slowly raised his head to look at the other, and Bakura yet again pondered how breathtakingly beautiful Marik really was, now more than any other time, with that helpless, childish look and those big crystal eyes.

No sly, sexy grin. No intoxicating passion…but Marik was beautiful . He was beautiful with every sense of the word. Not beautiful as a charming lover boy, but beautiful as a frightened, insecure, overall lonely existence. His self-hate of that scar had obviously grown into a full-fledged phobia towards other people. Perhaps that was exactly why Marik always tried his best to be breathtakingly beautiful…because deep inside, he felt ugly.

"I don't hate you." Bakura simply stated, watching Marik's wet eyes widen slowly. " I simply want to help you." Bakura admitted, and to his own surprise, he found he really meant it.

Marik's eyes lowered and he laughed bitterly "But…but…now that you know…how ugly I am…you…you'll probably…"

"Who told you you're ugly?" Bakura's curt voice suddenly inquired, cutting Marik's rant in half.

Marik seemed a little confused "Huh?"

Bakura sighed. He was NOT good in this. "I asked who the heck told you you're ugly, and how on earth did he manage to get it so stuck in your head?"

Marik blinked, his last tears falling. "I…well…I told myself…Because I hate…it…" Marik motioned towards his back, referring to the tattoo. Bakura visibly and unashamedly rolled his eyes at the other's predicament.

"Well, don't worry. One little…okay, big tattoo can't make you ugly. The ladies will still be crazy about you…Ask anyone you like. They all say so."

Marik snorted, confusing Bakura profusely. "I don't care about _them_…" Marik said tensely. Then he avoided Bakura's eyes, turning to stare at the ground and fiddle VERY uncharacteristically with his half-torn tunic, reminding Bakura how human he really was.

"I care about _you_…"

At that, Bakura almost choked on his saliva. Had Marik just said…did that mean he said…

"I-I mean…" Marik stuttered again, looking anywhere except Bakura's wide, volcanic eyes. "I…I care about what you think…about me being ugly, that is."

Bakura couldn't prevent the question from presenting itself immediately "Why? Why me?" he asked with a voice which lacked the customary devilish tone.

If there ever was a living representation of the word 'uncomfortable', Marik was it.

"Because…because…well….you're not like the others." The blonde simply said, all the time avoiding the other's fiery red eyes.

Bakura couldn't shake of the feeling that there was more to it than that simple, puny explanation. He decided, however, to finally keep his mouth shut and simply stare at his surroundings, not looking at all at Marik's eyes.

"So…do you?" Marik suddenly asked, raising his eyes to tentatively look at the other.

Bakura tried to play dumb in order to postpone the inevitable "Do I what?"

Marik visibly swallowed in anticipation with his heart beating fast, unbeknownst to Bakura, whose heart was also beating fast, for some reason.

"Do you…think I'm ugly?"

What kind of question was that? And how was Bakura supposed to answer? Whatever he said, he would either betray his own feelings or hurt Marik. He decided on a neutral, disarming answer.

"I'm dead. I don't understand the concept of beauty and ugliness the way you do." He stated in a practiced, neutral tone.

"Oh." Marik simply said, obviously crestfallen. Bakura idly wondered how it could be possible for a sly god of seduction to turn into a crying, insecure mess in a matter of hours. Then again, watching Marik's suddenly rejected expression and knowing HE had been the one who brought it there was not a good feeling either. Thus, he decided to discreetly mend his last answer.

"Well, judging from everybody else's reactions, I'd say you were beautiful. I've heard every single woman talking about you…"

Marik nodded slowly, carefully probing Bakura's eyes for any telltale sign, any proof…But now, only neutrality. Perhaps it was hopeless, after all….

"Well" Bakura suddenly said, almost making Marik jump from the sudden interruption. "Now that this is over with, I'd very much like to hear about that tattoo on your back…"

Marik swallowed again, staring at the ground and tracing circles with his hand. He didn't answer.

"Today has been a refreshing day, you know…I learnt about that operation…you know which…the operation to get Ryou young again. That Serenity woman told Ryou…You never trusted me with that, either, Mariku…How much are you hiding from me, exactly?" Bakura's tone turned demonic again, as his red eyes bore holes into Marik's face.

Marik immediately raised his head in alert at the accusation. "It's not that I don't trust you…I just…I thought it would be better if you learned about the operation later on…" he said in a very unusual defensive tone. Bakura got the chance to attack.

"And your scar? When were you planning to tell me about THAT, Mariku? I know nothing about you!! I think it's high time I learned, don't you? What would you think if you were I? What if you're one of Kaiba's spies too? What if you wanna kill us?" Bakura asked roughly, grabbing Marik's hand, which was absently making shapes on the soil and forcing Marik to focus on him.

Marik looked genuinely hurt again "Is that how much you trust me? You think I'm one of Kaiba's people?"

Bakura narrowed his eyes and pulled Marik closer by his hand "Apparently, you don't trust ME much more either, Mariku, so why should I?"

Marik pulled his hand away and started to massage it slowly, all the time looking guiltily at the ground. Bakura watched him expectantly- he knew he had hit a soft spot.

"Fine…" Marik said "I'll tell you…But I don't want anyone else to know…not even Ryou. Can you promise me that, Bakura? Can you promise me that what we say here will not leave this room?"

Although a little voice deep within Bakura warned that he never promised anything to anyone, and although another voice reminded him that Marik was unconsciously controlling him yet again, he dismissed it. It seems that Marik would never manage to get under Bakura's skin more than he had already.

"Fine. Consider it done." Bakura stated, and resumed the expectant look on Marik's face. Marik sighed slowly and turned his attention back to idly drawing on the ground.

"I….I don't remember. And that's the truth." He said as he turned to convince Bakura with a sincere stare "I can't remember how I got that god-damn mark, but I know it must have hurt like hell…Rishid doesn't have it, only me. He has that scar on the face instead…."

Bakura nodded slowly, focusing every single part of his essence on Marik's words and the value they held.

" Actually…I can't remember anything from my childhood. My memories are limited from when I turned eleven years old. All I can recall is growing up in Yango with Rishid. I don't know about this house, or why it has this cave…It was always like that…Ever since I was thirteen, I always wanted to find my memory…That's why I wanted to work in KaibaCorp so bad…I knew of Kaiba's old experimentations with memory and I knew of KaibaCorp's huge memory banks…I thought, maybe I could…."

Marik sighed.

"But it was no use. Only when I started working there did I understand how deep Kaiba Seto's schemes go. I never had time to search their memory banks, after all…they're too carefully guarded. There was no way…and then, that 'nameless' 1 operation happened…and here I am…And that's it."

Bakura simply stayed silent. "That was it?" he finally asked in disbelief "That was what you were so afraid of telling me?"

Marik seemed offended "It's not that simple…I've…I've never told anyone else this…only Rishid knows…"

Bakura tried to stop the bubble of pride from growing in his chest because of succeeding where everyone else had failed…Yes!! Marik trusted him!!!

"Actually…" Marik started suddenly "There's more…"

Bakura looked at him suspiciously "What more?" he asked.

"Well…" Marik started saying "When I was trying to figure out how Rishid and I had come to Yango, I asked some old residents of Virna if they had seen where we had come from…"

Bakura seemed interested "Go on…"

Marik nodded "well…they said that they had seen Rishid and I first arrive in Yango with one of those big public transportation ships….One of those ships for poor immigrants that came from Earth…"

Bakura's eyes widened "Earth? You come from Earth? I thought you always lived in Yango! You look exactly like the natives here!"

"That's what I thought too, until all these people told me they had seen me arrive in Yango at the age of ten with Rishid!! And so…I've been thinking…maybe there's something left for me on Earth…family, maybe? I don't know…I…I can't remember…"

Bakura nodded slowly "Seems to me that you and I have the same problem, pretty boi…we can't remember our past…At least one of us knows where to find it…"

Marik's head jerked up all of a sudden. "That's not true! You know where to find it as well! Kaiba is the key! He seems to know what's going on with you…"

Bakura nodded "Well, whatever happens, we both need answers…Earth seems to be the final battlefield…that's where the real fight will happen. We'll search for your past…and as for me…I'll just be content with breaking Kaiba's neck and squeezing my memories out of him!!"

Marik shook his head lightly, with a small grin stuck on his face "Whatever Bakura…just don't overexhiliarate yourself…"

Bakura glared soundly, but ignored the comment nevertheless "About Earth…you DO know that there is another member in this happy group who has unfinished business there, don't you?"

Marik narrowed his eyes in concentration "Someone else…who?"

Bakura smiled ominously "Brightside's new 'girlfriend'."

A delicate blonde eyebrow shot up in surprise "Ryou's girlfriend? But he doesn't have one."

Devilish demon eyes snorted back at him "Think again."

Marik grinned suddenly "So they got together, finally…Well it was about time if y'ask me…So, is it true that Serenity has something to do with Earth?" he inquired.

"Oh well, " Bakura all too innocently started "You know me…I can't go prying in people's business…I think it would be better if you asked about it yourself…"

Marik's eye twitched "Why don't you just tell me and get it over with?"

Bakura smiled "Nah…don't think so. Watching you burn in trepidation is much more entertaining!!"

"Why you!!" Marik glared, but Bakura could see the playfulness in his eyes.

"Yeah, right. Try to look more intimidating with that half-torn cloth over your chest! If I recall my Brightside's memories correctly 'you look like Fred from the Flintstones'" Bakura commented while standing up.

Marik raised an eyebrow at that "What the hell is 'the Flintstones'? "

"Just forget it, Fred."

And Marik glared,

1: They don't say the name "Rewind 1" because whenever Bakura directly hears it, he faints for some unknown reason.

**AN: Hehehe…PLZ do tell me whether you like this or not!!! I'm so sorry this update took me so much time…I hope it was worth it!!!**


	12. No time for that

**PLZ READ AUTHOR'S NOTE. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.**

**First of all, I want to thank all of my reviewers!! I know I haven't been updating regularly, but you didn't forget me!! That means a lot to me! Thankyou!!!!**

**Now, I'm afraid there may have been a misunderstanding with some reviewers. This story does contain yaoi. (m/m relationships) I'm truly sorry if you don't like this kind of thing, but this story does have it. Since some people don't really like yaoi and I'd like all of my friends to read the story, I've decided that when I'm finished with this story, I'll make a non-yaoi version of it. This means that it will be the same story, just without Marik/Bakura. This revision will happen in about a year, though, so I'm not sure people are willing to wait that long. I have to finish the yaoi version first, in order to recreate it.**

**That's all, for now. In two chapters, the characters will be on Earth, and we'll introduce more YGO characters. I think I'll write two or three more chapters of this story for now, then I'll work on and finish a small new story named Spectral Siren, and after that I'll continue this again.**

**THANKYOU so much for reading! Thankyou for everything!! Enjoy this chappy, which is meant to focus more on the emotions of our party than actual plot progression ( which will come in the next chap).**

Marik sighed as he secured the golden armlets on his forearms. Evidently, last night's events had affected him more than he'd thought possible. Proof of this? The fact that Marik had just spent the entire night replaying the scene with Bakura and himself in the underground crypt in his mind.

Bakura had seen…

Wasn't that reason enough to hate him?

Bakura knew his secret now. He was the only one besides Rishid who knew.

And, damn it, Bakura had been the very person Marik had fought to prove himself to. He had strived to prove to Bakura what a great leader he could be- how smart and cunning and seductive, too. But it was no use. Only when Marik had been reduced to a whimpering, shivering creature did Bakura really turn his way.

Now, Marik was brought to a dead-end. If Bakura noticed him more when he was helpless than he did when he was impressive and robust, what was he supposed to do? It seemed wrong, and it had to be…no one in Yango had ever liked Marik for what he really was, deep inside…All his childhood, he had learned that in order to get what you want you have to become something you're not- something that others like.

In that case…why didn't Bakura respond to that?

Marik unconsciously pursed his lips as he drew up his tall, brown boots. About the looks Bakura had given him last night…where had they come from? Where had all that usual anger and blind bloodlust been? Where had all those sadistic and hard qualities Marik had always learned to appreciate in Bakura's volcano eyes gone? All he could see last night was a couple of twin ruby jewels, staring up at him lazily and with unknown compassion.

The blonde boy shook his loose blonde bangs away from his face and proceeded to put the finishing touches on his appearance. He grabbed the golden chain hanging from a nearby chair and tied it twice around his waist. Noticing that his actions had curiously become a little more forceful than necessary, Marik tried to calm down. He was not behaving like himself.

The situation had become very sentimental for no apparent reason. Last night was just a minor drawback, is all. He was certainly not comfortable knowing someone other than Rishid knew his deepest secrets, but tried to cope with it nevertheless.

There were more imperative things calling for his attention at the moment, anyway. The sudden information of Serenity's bonds with Earth, for instance. Now THAT was something worth investigating. What was all this Bakura had insinuated about Serenity having secrets having to do with Earth? And if Serenity had in deed a mysterious connection with Earth, did Kaiba know or have anything to do with it? Was this all predicted in Kaiba's little plan all along?

Marik kept having a sinking suspicion that they were all being used as pawns on a very big, very sick game that went beyond all of them. Rewind 1 wasn't just another secret operation like so many others in KaibaCorp. It was unusually important, even for Kaiba. Rewind had infiltrated their lives permanently and now they were being hunted down and murdered for their very knowledge of it.

If this was true, if Kaiba had been using them all as pawns all along, then he had chosen them all in a very suspicious way: Serenity Wheeler, a famous scientist with mysterious links to Earth, Marik Ishtar, a young scientist with amnesia who also had something to do with Earth, Ryou Bakura, who came directly from Earth and was presumed dead, Dark Bakura and Dark Yugi, who obviously were the same kind of creatures and also had amnesia which prevented them from remembering where they came from, Yugi Mutou and his best friend Tea, who had always wanted to visit new lands…and then there were the other scientists Rika, Lena, Taichi and Kenji, who had not yet proven to be of some particular significance to the whole story, other than being unfortunately present in the Rewind 1 operation.

In any case, it was possible Kaiba had chosen these specific people for a specific reason all along. And that's what Marik feared the most: that they'd suddenly find themselves in a very surprising and very displeasing situation. If so, he'd never have the chance to get his memory back…ever. Kaiba would eventually track them down and slaughter them, keeping the Nectra all for himself and his 'masters', or whatever else 'they' were…

Marik sighed yet again as he walked towards the door. He fought to keep down the strange nervousness at the prospect of seeing Bakura again. The situation was important…he couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way any more than they already had. Bakura and he…it would have to wait. Last night was a mistake altogether. It was wrong of him to freak out suddenly, when he saw Bakura in the cave. He shouldn't have hyperventilated.

Operation Rewind 1 and how to get away from it were the most ominous and important things in their lives at the moment. There was no time to cry and sob for his unrequited past, while KC guards were waiting to kill them outside the house. Kaiba was after them, to kill them, and that was no joke. Marik's personal insecurities, however, were unimportant. Feelings like that just had to be… stopped. For Marik there was no redemption, for there was no one else to take decisions for their sorry posse except for him. Ryou and Yugi were both intelligent and wise, but Marik knew they could not take quick and effective decisions when called upon. As for Bakura…well, he wasn't alive. Sometimes, when his lust for the taste of life took over, Bakura became fickle and hasty in his decisions...better not risk it.

It was Marik's responsibility. Marik was the one who took decisions. Marik was the leader.

No time to get all mushy and revel in Bakura's newfound attention. No time for feelings like that. No time for…situations. He had ten people to save, including himself and his best friends- the only ones he had.

Marik nodded numbly at his own thoughts as he silently walked out of his room and observed Yugi and Tea who were cuddled peacefully on the couch, sleeping. The morning sunrays had only moments ago started to fall in the room and Marik started to realize just how much sleep he had lost thinking about all these things.

It was morning already. Bakura was probably sleeping in the guys' room now, having already relinquished control of the albino body back to its rightful owner: Ryou. Ryou, who Marik had recently found out had got himself a new girlfriend.

Marik grinned. Well, at least there was a small ray of light in this whole situation. Two good people had found happiness in each other: Serenity and Ryou. A rather predictable outcome, really, if not downright inevitable. Their characters matched so perfectly…they were just made for each other!

'Bakura…'

Marik sighed as he walked in the kitchen and started making his customary morning refreshment. 'Better forget about that subject.' He thought ' Getting ourselves out of this sorry trap is much more important right now.'

* * *

Needless to say the level of surprise everyone experienced when they came across the new couple kissing on the couch about half an hour later. By the time everyone had woken up and made themselves something to eat, Ryou had almost swallowed Serenity's entire face. Taichi, Yugi and Kenji had taken on timing the minutes each kiss lasted while laughing their heads off.

From a corner of the room, Rishid was playing an ancient looking chess game with Marik, while Tea kept deliberately trying to distract them by shouting cheerleader chants. It was a refreshing, amusing moment, Marik noted, but it wouldn't last forever. Kaiba's guards were still waiting for a chance to kill them outside, and granted they wouldn't wait for too long, Marik knew he'd have to start making a plan sooner or later.

"Um…I never thought Ryou could be so…outgoing with his feelings. I mean, he looked like an awfully inhibited person when we first met him, didn't he?" Rika idly chatted with Lena, while they watched Ryou and Serenity's lip-numbing kisses with silent awe.

Having heard the girls comment from the side, Marik's lips twitched slightly in a lopsided grin.

"I know, right? It must be Serenity! He's fallen completely under her spell!!" Lena answered. Marik noted that they were all talking as if Ryou and Serenity weren't even present, which they weren't, in a way.

"Jeez! Can't you give us a break?! You've been at it for more than fifteen minutes already!! Give it a rest!!" Taichi finally exclaimed, obviously not bearing the thought that there was a single male in the universe that could compete with him in kissing records.

Marik smirked and shook his head dismissively.

That is until a voice was heard. Heard only by a select few.

"You know, for once, I completely agree with this bozo! Your incessant lip-contact with the lassie here is getting more and more on my nerves, Brightside!! If you want to engage in such degrading, saliva-related activities feel free to warn me first, so I can be out of the body when you do it!!!"

…ah….Bakura.

And by the sudden agitated look on Ryou's face and Yugi's surprised wide eyes, they had noticed it too. They dismissed the spirit's presence quite quickly, however, and returned to what they were doing.

The mist dissolved from around Bakura as he literally floated near to where Marik was sitting with Rishid. Marik fought to keep the panic and nervousness from crawling in his heart. Oh no! This didn't look good! What was he supposed to say to Bakura after last night? How would he keep his own promise to keep his personal feelings away if he couldn't even fight away this crazy nervousness and accelerated heartthrob that Bakura's presence provoked?

So Marik chose to focus on what he was doing so as not to give his emotions away. He concentrated on the chess game solely, trying to keep the persistent and possibly meaningful looks he was currently receiving from the floating spirit out of his mind. Marik focused so hard on his next move that he unconsciously started glaring at the chess pieces, as if to break them. A black bishop was his focal glaring point.

"Marik!" was heard the irritated, hoarse voice that everyone ignored- even those who could see Bakura.

Marik started glaring at the bishop harder, consequently missing the concerned looks he was receiving from his opponent, Rishid. Rishid obviously could not see Bakura and was unaware of Marik's present predicament.

Deep down, Marik knew he was being silly and was very far from keeping his own emotions in check. He was very near a nervous breakdown, actually, given the throbbing, aching heartbeat that was making his palms sweaty and his throat dry. Why? Why now?

"Yo, dimwit!!" Bakura repeated, more annoyed this time. He was obviously getting tired of being so blatantly ignored. Unfortunately for Marik, he chose to make his presence more of an annoyance than it already was.

No words could explain the level of frigid shock that coursed through Marik's veins when he felt some very cold, transparent entity pass right through him. And then, before he knew it, he was looking straight at Bakura's burning, volcano red eyes. They were looking at him not angrily, but mischievously. Bakura could be a real nuisance if he wanted to. Especially when he passed through one's body.

"Will you ignore me for much longer?" Bakura inquired somewhat ominously, and Marik's breath caught in his throat. It would be useless to mention that he had stopped glaring at chess pieces long ago and was now solely concentrating on Bakura's eyes, which were staring up at him tensely. He felt like he was being watched by a hawk, or an observant owl. Actually, he felt naked. He felt again like his shirt was torn away and his scars were completely exposed for the world to see. Completely naked, helpless, under those criticizing, blood-red eyes.

Marik swallowed uncomfortably, having totally forgotten what was important and what not and what called for his immediate attention…The way Bakura was grinning at him…so strange…Why hadn't Marik noticed it before? No wait...he had.

"Master, is something wrong?" Rishid suddenly asked, attracting Marik's attention finally, making the blond stare at him confusedly for a few moments.

"Yes, blondie, is something wrong? You seem awfully stupefied all of a sudden…" Bakura echoed in that deliberately annoying tone, testing Marik's patience. The only thing that kept Marik from screaming at Bakura at that second was Rishid' s justifiably puzzled expression.

"Is it so much of a difficult move, sire?" the bald man asked with a small grin, referring to Marik's delay of moving a chess piece. Marik blinked in a perplexed manner. Bakura smirked along with Rishid, but his grin was hardly as amiable as the bald servant's. It was more on the mocking side. Marik's eyes narrowed. That Bakura! If only he could strangle him then and there!!!

"Uh…sorry Rishido…I just…I think I have to go inside for a while…" Marik slowly said. Shaking his head so as to clear his thoughts, Marik stood up and ignored the sting of cold that penetrated his body when he passed through Bakura once again. Rishid respectfully stood up simultaneously with his master and bowed humbly. "As you wish, Master. I shall be in the kitchen, should you need me."

Marik nodded dismissively and took a few steps away from the chess table. He pointedly ignored Bakura's persistent stares and turned his attention to the other occupants of the room, only to notice Ryou and Serenity missing from the couch.

"Were are Ryou and Serenity?" Marik asked no one in particular, only to get a response from Kenji.

"Oh, didn't you see them leave? Ryou finally decided to spare us the soap opera and go inside to continue…"

"Yeah, thank God for that!" Taichi agreed with his friend.

Marik blinked stupidly yet again. He had been so preoccupied with ignoring Bakura, it seems, that he had slipped away from his surroundings yet again. This was not good. When had he gotten so unstable? Yet again, he tried to evade Bakura's smirking face.

"Oh. Ok…I'll, err, be in my room." Said the once suave Marik, as he numbly walked towards the exit, always followed by a floating, grinning Bakura.

"What's wrong with him?" Kenji asked Taichi once Marik left them. The youth had surely detected something peculiar in Marik's usually comfortable demeanor.

"Beats me." Taichi simply answered, and downed another cup of whatever it was he was drinking.

* * *

Marik really didn't mean to act as though he was an unstable woman, but he couldn't help it. He just felt an increasing discomfort at being around Bakura, and wasn't about to come back to normal soon, it seemed. He just felt so weird at being around someone who practically knew everything there was to know about him…he felt really…exposed. Why did Bakura have to have those damned piercing eyes?

Bakura curiously didn't seem to have a problem with Marik's constant ignoring him. In fact, it seemed as though the spirit was even enjoying it. It was like Marik's nervousness was floating in the air, and the spirit could smell it. Evidently, he liked it very much.

Maybe it was Bakura's own little way of confirming he really did have the power to make powerful and handsome Marik crumble under his scrutinizing gaze. Marik was growing more and more nervous by the second, and was obviously well aware of the fact that Bakura was enjoying himself immensely. Sadly, there was little he could do about it.

"I suggest you speak with the girl now, when we will have the least audience possible." Bakura suddenly stated, making Marik stop dead in his tracks. The spirit was left facing Marik's tense back, while the blonde simply stood there, weighing his options.

Bakura was right. He had to speak with Serenity and find out about her mysterious links to Earth, and he had to do it when none of the others would be there to listen in on the conversation. Ryou wouldn't be a problem since he obviously knew of Serenity's secrets already.

Marik had to talk to her, he knew that. Now was the perfect opportunity.

So why wasn't he moving?

"Or perhaps your Excellency doesn't wish to talk to her, yet?" Bakura's insufferable ironic tone hit Marik full force. Curiously, it didn't bother Marik as much as he thought it should have. In fact, none of Bakura's sarcastic comments angered him any more.

"No…I do." Marik muttered while looking at the floor and clenching and unclenching his fists spasmodically. Unbeknownst to the blonde, Bakura grinned.

When Marik quickly turned around to walk back to Serenity's room, he wasn't prepared to come face to face with the transparent head and the bloody eyes that stood mere inches apart from his. Marik was frozen to the spot, suddenly unable to move, as he felt his heart pump frantically and painfully, gathering all his blood to his face. Not for the first time in these last few days, Marik thanked any god he knew of for giving him dark skin, resistant to blush.

Bakura's inconsiderate smirk was set firmly in place, as he leaned even closer, bringing his see-through lips so near the blonde's ear that they could graze the boy's skin with a sweep of air. Marik's entire body felt numb and lifeless, and he felt the need to grab onto something for support. He unconsciously tried to grab Bakura's shoulder to calm his beating heart, but he found his hand passing merely through air.

Nevertheless, Bakura's snort in his ear was real, and very sensational. Marik couldn't suppress his ragged breathing as his quickened heartbeat started to hurt him and send blood thundering in his ears.

And Bakura was as cold as ever, smirking.

"You know…" he whispered in Marik's ear with a voice that Marik was terrified to recognize as lazily husky. Suddenly, Marik was fully, painfully aware of the transparent, white threads that curiously seemed to graze all his torso. Bakura's hair…

"…you're a very interesting individual, Mariku…You were never afraid of me before, when I was merely a ghost that knew nothing about you…." Bakura continued, as he brought his cold, frigid hand to rest on Marik's shoulder "…but now…Now I can smell your blood, your beating heart…it's calling for me…"

Bakura grinned in the other's ear, and Marik was sure to have heard a whisper of something unknown, for a moment... Then it was gone, and Bakura's cold voice was back again "…Are you afraid of me, Mariku?"

Bakura paused at that moment and closed his eyes, as though waiting to hear or feel something. Marik had that distinct impression that Bakura was high again, just like he got when he fought. When his volcano eyes lit aflame and his pale skin seemed to glow…

" What am I to you…? Am I terror? Am I a beast? Now that I know your secrets, I could be all these things, right? Would you rather I didn't exist, now that I know more about you? Yesterday morning you were glad to talk to me…but now…now you're afraid….right?" Bakura merely inquired, making Marik gasp and squirm around uncomfortably. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe. Bakura had him trapped…once again.

" What are you afraid of, Mariku…?" Bakura pressured harder, suffocating Marik even though he had no body and no warmth to do so. Marik glanced frantically around, trying to escape the inevitability of the situation. " Who do you consider a friend…? The one who knows all about you or the one whom you know all about?"

Marik honestly didn't want to believe this was happening. He didn't want to believe this was Bakura talking to him. He didn't want to believe he was about to open his mouth and speak again, and prove that all he had ever fought for in his life was a lie and pretence. Why did he have to be such a sniveling, cowardly, insecure mess at that moment, helping prove Bakura right?!

"I…I" he only said, gasping. That stuttering was much worse than any other answer he could have given. It only fueled Bakura's mirth.

"You don't know, do you? You don't know yourself. How do you intend to lead a bunch of people if you don't even know how to understand your own heart, Mariku?"

And there it was ! The proof that Bakura considered him pathetic. There had been that word, that magic word. 'Lead'. All Marik had ever tried to show…all he had ever been…it was crumbling before his face…Bakura had discovered. He had seen past the walls of seductiveness and power. He now knew Marik was never fit to be a leader. He _knew_.

"Don't…don't tell me what to do, Bakura…" came the desperate command. It sounded more like a plea than a demand to Bakura.

"What are you trying to prove, anyway?" Marik shakily asked, making Bakura grin even wider.

Marik froze completely, when the spirit let his cold hand slip further down, grazing the blonde boy's abdomen and provoking goose-pumps on his skin. Bakura couldn't help himself. He was swimming in an unknown sea already- he had Marik now, under his control, for once. For once, it was Bakura who had the upper hand and Marik who was trapped!! Now it was he who had control, it was he who understood the other…

"Your heart's beating real fast…" Bakura idly commented, changing the subject bluntly. For some reason, the dazed tone in which he said what he said only served to make Marik's heart clench faster, more painfully.

"What…does that have to do with anything??" Marik asked in a panicky tone. Bakura stood unfazed. He laughed huskily as he allowed his hand to make the motion of sweeping away some of Marik's loose blonde bangs. Naturally, Marik's hair didn't even budge, and Bakura's hands passed through the golden locks. A small taste of bitterness seemed to enter Bakura's eyes, but it left as soon as it came.

"Nothing…It's just that I can see that pretty river pumping in your throat…" Bakura let his cold digit slide over the frantically throbbing vain under Marik's chin. That was the moment the blonde cursed himself for forgetting to wear his golden necklace that day. Why? Why today? Marik swallowed dryly.

" Why are you so jumpy today, hmmm? " the torture quietly continued " You shouldn't be, considering you know I won't hurt you…"

The blonde suppressed a shiver. "Do I?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk….I though we trusted each other, Mariku…" Bakura pressed on sadistically and leaned in nearer to Marik's face "Are you saying you don't trust me…? Do you trust me less now that I know your secrets than you did before, when I knew nothing about you??"

"I…I…" Marik really didn't know what to say. He had to escape. He had to remember what had brought him in this predicament all along. He had to…he had to…

"I…I have to talk to Serena!" he suddenly exclaimed and rudely walked through Bakura, who had so conveniently made him suffocate with a non-existent body.

Bakura wasn't startled, not even for a second. He followed the retreating Marik without missing a beat. He noticed how spasmodically Marik moved and how labored his breathing seemed.

In his blind haste to get away from Bakura, Marik intended to step through Serenity's room's door without knocking. He was very near to the door when Bakura caught up with him and shouted at him, always looking at him in the eye.

"I think it would be prudent to knock first, pretty boi…you never know what they may be doing in there…" Bakura let that statement trail on meaningfully, smirking at Marik, who found the courage to look at him in the eye for the first time that day.

That idiotic way of calling him 'pretty boi'… That was what had triggered Marik's sudden comfort. It was as though Bakura and he had come to a unanimous conclusion that there had been enough discomfort for the day. Things were now back to normal. No more weird words. No more nervousness. Now it was just the good ol' situation, where Bakura and Marik were friends who constantly teased each other and found comfort in torturing Ryou and Serenity. Now was the time for things to finally return to normal…

Marik was glad. He was glad Bakura had given him the hint.

"Riiiiiight…I almost forgot that….Wouldn't want more of the previous display of affection from Ryou's part." Marik said as he pointedly shouted to Serenity to open the door from inside.

Ruffling noises were heard form the interior of the room and then silence. Marik and Bakura exchanged mildly amused glances at the whispers. Well, someone had –unsurprisingly- been busy in there….

"Just a moment!!" was heard Serena's rushed voice. Bakura merely rolled his eyes towards the heavens, making Marik grin form the side. They both looked up at the sound of the door opening. Serenity stood behind it looking flushed and out of breath. Her clothes were in slight disarray and her hair was also quite ruffled. From behind her, in the room, Ryou resembled her appearance.

Serenity, who apparently could only see Marik and not the dark spirit next to him, smiled slightly. From inside the room, however, Ryou looked horrified at seeing his Darkside with Marik.

"Hey Mar, what's wrong?" Serenity questioned somewhat impatiently, obviously eager to resume her previous activities with Ryou. Marik dismissively thought of the effects a relationship could have on a person's behavior with other people. Under normal circumstances, for example, Serenity would have never been so impatient at seeing Marik leave. Now, however, that Ryou was waiting for her in the room…

From the side, Bakura huffed in an irritated manner at Serenity's words.

"Mar?' the spirit questioned, unbeknownst to Serenity " What kind of corny nickname is that? Did it actually take time for her to come up with it, or is she just too anxious to get in Brightside's pants that she can't spare a moment to spell your full name properly? It's Marik, lassie. Ma-rik!!!"

Marik fought the urge to snicker at the spirit's words in order not to betray Bakura's presence in front of Serenity. Ryou had heard from inside the room, however, and was unfortunately a much more expressive man than Marik…

"Oh, shut up for once, will you?!" Ryou shouted at Bakura from inside. Serenity obviously thought he was talking to her, because she turned to him and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Did I say something wrong, Ryou?" she simply asked.

"Yeah! Did she say something wrong, Brightside?!" Bakura shouted rudely, knowing he could be heard by everyone but the girl. Ryou glared daggers straight at him, confusing Serenity further.

"Yeah, did she?" Marik echoed sadistically, enjoying seeing Ryou glare at Bakura and squirm around, trying to find a solution for his predicament.

"Uh…not you Serena…I was talking to…um…" Ryou started explaining, thus giving Bakura and Marik time to exchange mischievous glances.

"Jealous of her intimacy to me? I, for one, think 'Mar' is nice…" Marik teased Bakura silently, while Serenity was preoccupied with Ryou.

Bakura rolled his eyes pointedly "Give us a break, pretty boi." He simply stated.

Marik grinned "That's a corny nickname too, you know…"

Bakura had no time to answer Marik, since Serenity turned around at that moment and Marik focused on her. Thus, Bakura just settled on a death glare.

"So what is it, Marik?" Serenity asked while motioning for Marik to come in the room.

"That's better…" Bakura muttered as he stepped through the closed door after Marik. "Much better." He was obviously referring to Serenity's calling Marik by his normal name.

Marik rolled his eyes secretively at Bakura's childish behavior. He focused on Serenity.

"Serena, I know this is a really bad time, but I have to talk to you." Marik simply said, hoping he wouldn't take no for an answer. He sensed Bakura approach and stand on his right as Serenity motioned for Marik- the only guest she thought she had- sit on a nearby chair.

"Sure, Marik. What is it? Is it about Kaiba? Can't it wait for later?" Serenity questioned at once, contradicting one answer with the other. Marik chose to dismiss all this rant and try a simple, more conversational approach.

"So…" he started slowly, trying to ignore the unusual death-glares Ryou was aiming in Bakura 's direction and Bakura's blunt way of ignoring them "You and Ryou, huh?"

That seemed to catch Serenity a little off guard. A bright shade of blush graced her cheeks and she shyly looked at the floor. From behind her, Ryou smiled serenely. He didn't seem at all perturbed.

"Ah, I, Well, Um, You now…" Serenity tried to explain unsuccessfully, making Bakura snort.

"Oh please! It's like nobody saw Brightside and her getting it on all over the couch this morning!!! And now she's all shy about it! Give us a break, woman! That's not how you felt about it this morning, obviously!!! I was there- trust me on this! I was closer than I ever wanted to be!!!!"

Although Ryou gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw, Marik tried to restrain the urge to burst out laughing at Bakura's tone. He regained his composure and kindly smiled to Serenity, however.

"Well, I don't know how it happened, but I'm glad. I'm happy you finally realized you love each other…Everybody else had realized except the two of you."

Serenity was a bit flabbergasted at Marik's words, but Ryou seemed just as calm and as wise as ever. "Uh…thanks, Marik." Ryou said, finally, while taking hold of Serenity's hand.

Marik just smiled. "Sure! We're all very happy for both of you!" he reassured, making Bakura turn to him with a raised eyebrow.

"We are?" the dark spirit commented, earning an annoyed glare from both Marik and Ryou. "And stop sending me telepathic signals to 'SHUT UP!' coz I never do and you know it!!" Bakura then told Ryou. Suddenly, Marik knew all too well why Ryou had been considered schizophrenic in the 21st century. Who wouldn't, if they had Bakura torturing them and making understatements about EVERY single thing?? It was enough to drive a man crazy!

Anyway, Marik finally considered it to be high time he finally stopped beating around the bush. He was here to talk to Serenity for a reason. It was truly imperative that he learned about her past on Earth and what bonds tied her there still. He decided there was no way to bring the subject smoothly so he might as well be straightforward about it.

"So…Serena…" Marik started with his usual coaxing charm " I've been meaning to speak to you about this for a really long time now…" he lied, making Bakura snort "When I was still working in KaibaCorp I stumbled upon your application paperwork…Kaiba forced us to conduct research on all new employees status and background. I guess I must have told you some time ago, but…I know. I know you come form Earth."

And that was actually all Marik knew from Bakura. Here he was hoping to coax the information out of Serenity without letting her suspect it was Ryou or Bakura who had told him, but that he had found out himself.

Predictably, Serena froze. "Wha- what do you mean 'you know I come from Earth'?" she stuttered, letting Marik know just how insecure she was about the specific subject. From nearby, Ryou seemed alerted as well. He hadn't known Bakura had told Marik about Serena's past. He vowed to decapitate Bakura as soon as he had the chance, since Ryou was sure it was Bakura who had informed Marik of this. Bakura…he seemed to become more and more a part of Marik's side every day.

Bakura and Marik…at first, Ryou didn't really understand the nature and the level of their mutual understanding…but now, as he gazed upon his own Darkside…The way Bakura stood close to Marik, yet not as close as to raise suspicion…the way the twin red eyes never left the back of Marik's head…as though he was being protective…possibly possessive too. And Marik from his own part seemed addicted to Bakura's snide comments or the spirit's cruel way of thinking. To be honest, Bakura and Marik just seemed unable to get enough of each other- always in each other's presence…

"I mean I know you come from Earth. That's part of why I chose Earth to be our hideout…I would like you to tell me, Serena. I want to know your exact links to Earth. I need to know why Kaiba chose…people who have to do with Earth…"

Serenity's eyes widened considerably "What do you mean he chose people that have to do with Earth?" she asked incredulously.

Bakura huffed from nearby. " Does she have to repeat every phrase you say right after you say it by simply adding 'what do you mean'?? It's getting on my nerves."

Marik ignored the comment, knowing that if he got too caught up in Bakura, he'd be unable to concentrate on Serenity. Marik knew this was important, and Bakura obviously knew this too…yet Bakura didn't seem all that serious about anything anymore. All he seemed intent on doing was distracting Marik…and admittedly succeeding, for Marik found himself daydreaming about the next time he'd have a chance to talk alone with Bakura. Maybe it was because Bakura already knew this information from Serenity…Nevertheless, Marik was intent on learning and not letting his personal feelings get in the way. He turned back to Serenity.

"Oh Marik…" the girl was rambling " Please don't hate me for it! I know only scum and punks come from Earth, but I…"

"Serena…" Marik tried to calm her. She kept talking, not even listening to what he was trying to say. Finally, he got the chance to get through to her.

"Serena!!" he shouted and she finally stopped rambling. She blinked, as Marik continued. "I don't hate you, okay? You can relax now…I don't consider coming from Earth degrading, like some people…It's our home planet, right? Doesn't that make it special?"

Serenity was surprised with her friend's reaction to say the least.

"Um…I guess??!" she finally said, after a while.

Marik grinned slightly, knowing he'd have her tell him what he wanted soon enough. This, however, didn't go unnoticed by Bakura, who noticed the confident change in Marik and smirked. Marik and his charms…with them he could deceive even the closest of friends, just like he was doing now. But not him. Not Bakura….When with Bakura, Marik's charm backfired. In fact, Marik had confessed everything to Bakura, unable to resist the spirit's pressure. He had confessed to Bakura things that neither this Serenity girl nor anyone else would ever know. Bakura reveled at the very thought.

"Actually, Serena…" Marik started suavely, carefully evading any of his personal motives " I have specific reasons for choosing Earth to be our final resort…Ryou comes form Earth…you obviously have something to do with Earth…Most of us who were in that nameless operation have something to do with Earth…"

Serenity carefully nodded "You don't have to say nameless operation any more, Marik. Ryou knows…I told him yesterday."

Marik smiled "You did? That's very…fortunate." No one except Bakura saw the subtle flicker in Marik's eyes as they turned towards him. Marik wasn't at all interested in whether Ryou knew about Rewind 1 or not, actually. He was just worried that Bakura would pass out at the mentioning of the name.

"Yes." Serenity continued "And I see what you mean about Kaiba choosing people who have bonds with Earth. Although I haven't told this to many people, for fear that they would criticize me, I see now that it might not be true. I'll tell you what you want to know about my past on Earth…and my family there."

Marik was suddenly very interested in the conversation "You have family on Earth?" At Serenity's somewhat hesitant nod, Marik was encouraged to ask for more information.

"Can you…Will you tell us about it?" Marik asked. To Serenity it sounded as if Marik was referring to 'us' as Ryou and himself. Little did she know that Marik truly meant 'us' as in Bakura and himself. Ryou, however, seemed to take the subtle hint.

After a long while, Serenity finally nodded and took a deep breath, preparing to recite her story.

"G' night. Wake me up when she finishes." Bakura simply stated and made Marik smile a little and Ryou glare squarely at him. The spirit then proceeded to feign sleep as Marik listened carefully to Serenity's narration. When she was finished, Marik had nothing to say or do apart from placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as a demonstration of understanding for her lost brother.

"I understand…" Marik simply stated "You have to stop blaming yourself…I know what it's like to lose a sibling…I think."

Serenity nodded mutely at these words, while Ryou took her in his arms. From Marik's side, Bakura granted the blonde a strange glance. Marik knew what it was like to lose a sibling? Now what was that all about? Could Marik's lost memory include the loss of a brother or sister…? In that case, did Marik have flashbacks? Or was it just intuition that had made him say that?

Curiously, it was wise and reticent Ryou who broke the silence. "You know…I've been meaning to tell you guys…but I don't think we must take everyone to earth with us…"

Marik, Bakura and Serenity all turned to him simultaneously.

"What do you mean, Ryou?" Serenity asked. Bakura rolled his eyes. Why did everything about this girl have to make him so angry?!

Ryou focused on what he was trying to say, drawing Marik's attention. "What I'm trying to say is, there's no need to endanger more lives by going to Earth. If it's only us who have links with Earth then we should be the only ones to go. Rika, Taichi, Kenji, Lena, Yugi, Tea and Rishid shouldn't have to go with us…Besides, I could think of many things most of them would rather do than go to Earth, right?"

Bakura was swift to respond, unheard by Serenity. "Fascinating, Brightside. You've said something worthwhile for a change." Ryou simply looked at him disapprovingly while Bakura continued " But you are right. It would prove more practical to leave everyone here so only the four of us can go to Earth. For one, we can't afford so big a party- we need stealth and discretion…and I doubt the people you just described can give us any…"

Marik silently nodded his head, convincing Serenity that he was agreeing with Ryou's prior statement. Damn, this was confusing!!

" I see what you mean, Ryou" Marik said, secretly answering to both Ryou and Bakura at once "But we mustn't forget that Kaiba has set a bounty on their heads too. Kaiba is after them, to murder them, too. We can't just leave them here, without supplies and a ship or something…that would be heartless!"

Bakura laughed maniacally "I know! It's perfect!!"

Marik didn't bother with hiding his rolling eyes. Serenity spoke after that.

"Don't you remember the plan we thought of yesterday? Somehow, we're gonna convince Kaiba's guards we're dead and steal the KC ship which will undoubtedly come to pick them up from Yango. I suggest we all stick together until we're in that ship and away from Yango. Then, Rishid, who has more experience, can take care of the others and take them somewhere safe while we manage to get to Earth. Besides, let's not forget that Taichi and Kenji are Navigators. They're the only ones who can drive a ship in this sorry lot!!"

Marik nodded slowly, as he, Ryou and Bakura considered the girl' s words.

"You're right." Marik simply said "She's right." He repeated in Bakura's direction while rubbing his temples, making it obvious how tired he was.

"Look" started Ryou "Here's what we do: play dead, steal the KC ship that will come here for the guards, have Taichi and Kenji take us to Earth so we can find out what on earth's going on and then let them continue to hide someplace else. Somewhere safer than Earth. How about that?"

Marik nodded numbly as Bakura started speaking after that "But let's not forget the Yugi kid. He' s got a Darkside too, remember? Maybe he will be needed on Earth…Maybe his spirit has something to do with all of this…just like I obviously do…"

Marik was getting really tired of all this nodding "You're right" he answered Bakura, confusing Serenity, who thought he was talking to thin air, "You're absolutely right. Game King Yugi probably has something to do with this as well…but Tea won't let go of him…Which could only mean one thing:" Marik concluded as he looked at Bakura. Bakura nodded.

"If the Game kid comes, the girlfriend comes with him…" the spirit filled in Marik's phrase.

"Exactly" Marik concluded, completely ignoring the fact that Serenity was looking at him slack-jawed and Ryou was sending him warning glances. "It's a burden we will unfortunately have to bear."

"Uhhh" Serenity's melodic voice interrupted the conversation, making Bakura positively fume in annoyance. He was obviously still reluctant to accept Serenity's level of assistance in the group. "Did I miss something? Who are you talking to, Marik?" Although Serenity did have a small idea about what was going on behind this…

Marik blinked and tried to drown out Bakura's hysterical laughter at his predicament. Ryou had to hold back a small snicker as he recognized his usual problem in Marik's features.

"Uh…I…" Marik started while rubbing the back of his head lightly "You see, I sometimes speak to myself…uh…it helps me…uh…. concentrate…?"

Serenity raised an eyebrow "Uh-huh. Okaaaayy….So what do you have to say after your small dialogue with yourself?"

Bakura sniggered from the sidelines as Marik spoke "uh…I was actually thinking we should take Yugi and Tea with us too. Yugi seems like a very important person who draws attention wherever he goes so it might be safer to keep him away from the weak group of the others…Besides, he knows many things and he likes to visit new planets. What better assistance could there be? Right?"

Serenity seemed to think this through and nodded. "You're right. Absolutely right. Yugi and Tea should come too."

"Of course" Bakura piped in again "You neglected to say the actual reason why we want Yugi with us, didn't you. His spirit!" he exclaimed in triumph.

'Shut up' Marik simply said under his breath.

"Well, if that is all, I think we had better gotten to work right about now." Ryou gave the usual logical solution "It is imperative that Rishid, Yugi and the others are informed of the current decisions as soon as possible. Only then can we put our plans into effect."

"Fantastic, Brightside. You sound like a computer when you talk like that." Bakura commented cynically as Ryou ignored him with practiced ease and took Serenity's hand. "We're going to talk to Lena, Rika, Taichi and Kenji and you go to Yugi, Tea and Rishid, ok?" Ryou asked as he walked towards the exit. He didn't really leave any room to argue since he had left as long as he'd finished his words.

Numbly, Marik turned to Bakura who was eyeing him somewhat hungrily from his position against the wall.

"Naturally, they gave us all the hard work. The mere thought of telling Yugi all this is making me dizzy" Marik commented while walking to lean against the wall exactly beside Bakura.

"I don't think Brightside and the woman will be telling anybody anything any time soon…they're busy, already." The spirit grinned, his eyes turning to meet Marik's in what the blonde abruptly recognized as an unquestionably sultry, sensual gaze.

Red…red for passion- red for fire and eroticism and heat…Red in Bakura's eyes, as they bore into Marik's heart, scorching and burning and vaporizing all the crystallized lavender in his soul.

Why, why hadn't he seen it before? The way Bakura looked at him…it insinuated something. The manner in which those twin wine red eyes glided around Marik's body, the way Bakura slightly closed his lids in order to dim the fiery glow and stare at the other with half-closed, dulled and subdued red eyes…

Like velvet red curtains and silk blood-red bed covers. Like the touch of a red rose when it runs over soft skin. The entire essence of erotic sin was there, trapped in Bakura's dead red eyes, laying dormant forever in the translucent body of a ghastly form. Bakura's passion was stilled forever in his eyes- captured to stay frozen there for all eternity- existing only so as to remind everyone that they could never have it.

Bakura's life must have been forced out of him at the most robust of moments, when all his infernal emotions had surfaced in his eyes. And now those ruby orbs were dead and still forever, taking the life and passion with them. It was sealed, hidden from everyone- even Bakura himself.

And Marik knew, with a strange, painful clenching of his heart that no matter how inviting Bakura's eyes looked or how many fantasies Marik could imagine just by looking at them, there was nothing there- Bakura was dead. For it was just the image of the volcanic inferno, not the real explosion. Bakura was a photograph- the mental image of a dead man. Actually, Marik didn't even know how Bakura really looked like. Ironic, wasn't it? He didn't even know what Bakura's real name was.

It was tragic.

"What?" a harsh baritone voice suddenly asked, and Marik was pulled out of the red abyss he had fallen into. He sought quick recovery of his shaken state in a random excuse.

"Nothing. I was just wondering how we're gonna tell Yugi the news,.." he lied fluently. Bakura didn't seem to notice this time.

Bakura nodded "Well, we'll never learn if we just stay here and look at each other like a couple of retarded dimwits, will we?" he asked suddenly, and floated away from the wall. Marik sighed.

"Bakura, you talk to much.." he concluded as he approached the door with Bakura in tow.

"Really now? You know I can do other things too…with a knife, mainly…" the demonic glint was back in Bakura's eye and Marik felt he had good reason to be alerted right about now.

"You know what? " Marik continued as he exited the room "I really think we should start looking for Yugi immediately!!"

Bakura just grinned. "Too bad, and here I was hoping…"


	13. Possibilities

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GREAT CRITIQUES! HERE COMES THE NEXT CHAPPIE! I MADE THIS EXTRA LONG!

"If Yugi goes, then I'm going with him."

Marik tried to restrain the sigh of resignation that threatened to escape his pursed lips. He nodded compassionately and smiled a little, as he turned to look at the brilliant, cobalt-eyed girl. He had seen this coming, yet it felt so bad to be proven right. If Yugi was to come to Earth, Tea was bound to come with him. More lives at stake…more responsibilities…more problems…

The tanned boy distantly acknowledged Bakura's invisible huff from the side.

"I know Tea. I understand. However, you do realize it will be dangerous…very dangerous." Marik carefully answered, eyeing the skeptical Yugi and his determined friend.

Tea nodded immediately, her oak-colored hair fanning around her head as she did. "I know!" she countered "But I want to be by his side!!"

"Oh, please!! Mercy!!" Bakura commented, earning a square glare from Marik and Yugi, who could also see him. Needless to say Marik was somewhat less than enthusiastic to see Yugi's dark spirit, the Game King, float out of his golden pyramid and materialize right next to Bakura. Oh-oh. They had enough problems already…it would be imprudent to turn this conversation into a full-fledged, personal dispute between the two immortal spirits.

"Don't talk about Tea like that!!" The Game King spat venomously at Bakura's direction "You'd be lucky if you had half her courage and kindness!!!"

Bakura's eyes narrowed ominously, alerting Yugi and Marik and having absolutely no effect on the ignorant Tea, who also happened to be the object of the unheard discussion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, your highness…" Bakura barked back maliciously, earning a warning glare from Marik, who couldn't speak to Bakura due to Tea's presence. Bakura promptly ignored the blonde and continued his sneers "Did I insult your girlfriend? Is it my fault your future queen can't take the hint and stay out of people's business, for once?"

The Game King looked positively ready to implode. Tea, who was left completely in the dark between a glaring Marik and a desperate-looking Yugi, decided to speak up.

"Is something wrong…?" she dared to ask.

Bakura barked out a laugh "I'm sure she'll be a great asset to our group, with her quick reflexes and abilities to interpret any situation…Then again…she may be a great asset to you, your Majesty…After all, we don't know what transpires behind closed doors…"

At this crude implication, kind young Yugi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and Marik was terrified to see him stand up quickly and point an accusing finger at Bakura, confusing poor Tea further.

"Take that back, you…you slimy, see-through blob!!!" he shouted, making Bakura guffaw and Marik hide his face in both palms.

"Yeah, take that back you disgusting slime! I'm sure you were some sort of slimy thief in your real life!!! That would explain a lot!!!" Dark Yugi echoed after his Brightside.

"Yugi…what do you mean? Don't you want me to come? " Tea asked in a hurt tone, making Bakura laugh harder and Yugi look at her in desperation.

"No! Tea you misunderstood…I was talking to someone else…I want you to come!! You know I can't live without you!!"

Tea smiled at that, still a bit puzzled about Yugi's earlier outburst.

"Aww…how romantic! It sickens me!!!" Bakura stated, but was surprised to earn a blow from the now irate Game King. In their unknown dimension, the two spirits started fighting, positively ready to pluck each other's hair out. Only when they stared screaming and shouting did Marik decide upon acting.

'Doesn't Bakura listen to my commands?' he thought in exasperation 'Well, time to test the theory…'

"Stop!! Stop it now…Bakura!!!" Marik shouted, while standing up and running towards the two spirits, who were now rolling on the ground. Bakura's eyes narrowed and flashed a hurt red for a moment, as he seemingly struggled to fight something deep inside his brain. But it was no use. He had no control over his hands and legs any more, as they voluntarily stopped trying to hurt Dark Yugi and focused on pushing the other spirit away.

"Damn you, Mariku! You and your stupid mind-games!" Bakura shouted at the other's direction, while Marik watched Dark Yugi retreat in the dark recesses of Yugi's golden necklace with a last glare towards Bakura.

Marik didn't know whether he should feel hurt or angry or just plain miserable. His theory of being able to control Bakura had been proven right once again, yet Bakura's hateful expression made him want to crawl in a little hole somewhere and die.

"What's going on here?" Tea asked, now fully alert and standing up "Yugi?" she questioned somewhat strictly, her eyes clearly demanding answers.

Yugi sighed and exchanged looks with Marik, who did everything humanly possible to avoid Bakura's aggravated eyes.

"Well, Tea…" Yugi started saying, while looking at Marik who had his stare fixed on the floor for some reason. Only when Bakura's invisible body started to seemingly dissolve, indicating his return to Ryou's golden ring did Marik turn to look at Bakura, instantly understanding what was going on.

Some kind of alarm went off in Marik' s heart, sending the blood pump erratically in his veins. "No! Bakura, don't go!!!" he shouted, running frantically towards the fading body and falling on his knees.

"Don't…" Marik started saying, focused solely on the last part of Bakura that remained, his wine-red eyes, which were still staring at Marik in accusation. Then, Bakura faded completely.

Yugi and Tea were left somewhat speechless, staring at a Marik very unlike the one they had grown to recognize. Why was Marik's back humped in such resignation and why had the blonde covered his face with his palm?

"Marik…?" Tea questioned gingerly, having completely lost Bakura's actions that Yugi had so breathlessly witnessed.

Choosing to ignore Marik's obviously shaken state, the young ruby-eyed boy chose to update Tea on recent information. "You see, Tea…Ryou Bakura also has a…a Darkside."

At this, Tea's eyes widened. Having long since known about Yugi's secret spirit, she knew what the kind boy meant. Another…spirit?

"Are you serious?" Tea questioned simply, unable to believe her ears. "There's another?"

"Yes." Was heard Marik's deep, tropical voice. Both others turned to the exotic god's direction, recognizing immediately the composed and sly boy the had grown to respect. Looks like Marik had come back to normal.

"There is another…spirit. He's called Bakura, after Ryou's surname. He doesn't have memories, much like Dark Yugi…He's part of the real reason we want to go to Earth without the others. There might be answers there for us- him…I mean him."

The little slip up went unnoticed by Tea but caught Yugi's attention. Us? Answers for us? Now what was that supposed to mean?

"Oh…" Tea's sweet tone echoed " Well…you and this spirit seem to be really good friends." She idly commented towards Marik's direction, noticing Marik's lavender eyes had once again slipped in a dazed trance to the floor.

"Yes, well…" Marik started saying, suddenly receiving a stab in the heart. He had acted his part perfectly until now, pretending, as always, to be calm and composed and unperturbed. But inside, he was actually boiling. What had just happened? He did the right thing, didn't he? Would Bakura hate him now? Would the spirit spread his deepest secrets as an act of vengeance? Worst of all…would Bakura…hate him?

"You should have told me earlier, Yugi!" Tea suddenly complained to a goofy Yugi, pulling Marik out of his trance and making him smile.

"Well, you know how it is, Tea… " Yugi started "I didn't want to worry you further…"

More protests came from Tea, making Yugi rush to try and calm her and Marik shake his head dismissively. Couples these days. Oh yes, Tea and Yugi were most definitely a couple, even if they did everything humanly possible to conceal it. As with most other human relationships around him, except of course for his own, Marik could plainly understand it.

"Tea, I'm not so sure I want you to come…I'd much rather you went with Rishid and the others…I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you Tea…"

"No, Yugi! Don't ever say that! This is my choice…I want to go with you…to protect you…" at this, Tea fell in Yugi's arms, embracing him tightly, making the whole situation seem like a scene from a romance novel.

Marik smiled as Tea and Yugi hugged each other in quite the unfriendly way. He idly thought that if Bakura were there, he would have said something like 'Oh, please, give us a break!' or 'I hate mushy stuff!'…Laughing somewhat starkly at that thought, Marik then sobered up and turned to look thoughtfully back at the ground.

Would he ever hear Bakura make such comments again? Would he ever…see him again? Would they ever be together alone again, like they had been last night, in that dimly lit underground cavern? And Bakura…would his blood-eyes ever look as soft and intoxicating and sultry as they had looked that night, when he had so unceremoniously ripped Marik's tunic off his body and made the boy feel more naked than he had ever felt?

Marik suddenly wanted to cry.

"Well, if that's all, I have to go talk to Rishid and make the final arrangements…" Marik said lightly, eyeing Yugi and Tea with his customary knowing gaze. Tea smiled and buried herself deeper in Yugi's arms, while the boy idly nodded.

The tanned blonde approached the door, which opened automatically at his approach. Before he could exit, however, he heard Yugi's voice speak a few last words.

"I hope it will all be alright, in the end…then we can travel together as I promised you, Tea…"

Marik smiled as stepped outside the room. He hoped too, but for a different reason.

* * *

As Marik walked silently down the long corridor, his incredibly lithe body slipping around the atmosphere like a tanned serpent, he raised a slender eyebrow.

There on the side of the corridor were Serenity and Ryou, the boy having completely pinned the girl to the wall and trying to test exactly how far down her throat his tongue could go. Although Marik was glad the two had finally found each other's love and affection, he honestly wasn't looking forward to indulging himself to voyeurism anytime soon. Since he pretty much assumed Taichi, Kenji and the others would have similar opinions on the specific matter…well, alright, everyone EXCEPT Taichi and Kenji, at least…he decided to interrupt the intimate encounter.

With a sly smile plastered permanently on his face, the exotic boy spoke up "Uh…Serena…? If you're down there, please answer me…" he said lightly.

The change was rapid. Ryou promptly jumped off his girlfriend and strived to help her hide her beet-red face anywhere she could find.

"Wow, Ryou. I didn't know you had it in you…" Marik commented.

"Yeah, well…" Ryou started with a very unbecoming nervous grin, all the while rubbing his hand against the back of his head.

Marik grinned, seeing as Ryou seemed to be turning into a real youngster with each passing moment. Maybe Ryou had never really had a carefree youth in his former dutiful life. Maybe he was just starting to live with the one he loved.

"What were you doing here anyway, Marik?" Serenity questioned in a slightly gruff tone. Marik grinned about that, too. Seems like Serenity was getting more and more open with her emotions ever since she hooked up with Ryou. Marik was glad he had helped her start living a guilt-free life for her own pleasure, not for an obligation.

Just as Marik had predicted, they were perfect for each other.

"Well, apart from reminding you indecent public exposure is considered a crime –at least in civilized planets- I wanted to ask you whether you talked to Lena, Rika, Taichi and Kenji about our earlier decisions." Marik eyed Serenity's half-open tank top and smirked cheekily "But I guess it would be futile even asking."

At that, Ryou seemed genuinely insulted and Serenity looked absolutely embarrassed. Marik was truly surprised when he heard Ryou's next words.

"Well, as improbable as it seems, Marik, we actually did talk to them." He said.

"That's right!" Serenity continued his thoughts "They were actually happy to hear they didn't have to go to Earth. Rena, specifically, said she generally didn't enjoy being induced to such 'slimy, rotten places'…They would all actually be glad to go somewhere else with Rishid. We excused our not going with them by saying we needed to split up and go to different planets to confuse Kaiba…and that's about it."

Marik nodded slowly, his lips pursed in an approving expression. "Very good, guys…I'm proud of you."

Ryou and Serenity both grinned, their fingers interlaced as they held hands.

"Well, I guess it's only Rishid who has to informed, then…I'll go talk to him right now." Marik said, as he gave a little wave at Ryou's direction. He didn't even get to turn around before Ryou and Serenity were kissing again.

"Oh!" Marik shouted, not even bothering to turn around, since he already knew what he would see "And before I forget…get a room!"

And with those words, Marik turned around the corridor corner, his black, finely crafted shirt flowing slightly after him. He failed to see Ryou and Serenity's slightly reddened faces, as they scurried towards Serenity's room.

* * *

Rishid was wiping his favorite glass ornament when he heard the door of his and Marik's bedroom open. He didn't even have to turn around in order to know who it was that had just stepped in the room. The flowing oriental smell and the fact that the atmosphere seemed to get immediately hotter was proof enough.

Immediately, Rishid bent down humbly and put the ornament down as he turned towards his Master.

"My Lord, do you require anything? Another chess game, perhaps?" he asked quietly, as he turned his eyes upward, to stare straight at the back of a blonde head he had grown to know so well.

Marik had walked wordlessly at the side of a purple-covered bed. He took a golden little butterfly in his hands and traced the delicate lines of its fine sculpture somewhat wistfully.

"Rishido…" he started, immediately catching the other's attention, showing the older servant something was definitely wrong. The servant dared to stand up and approach Marik's tense form from behind.

"We've been through a lot together, haven't we?" Marik asked silently, lowering his head slightly and letting his pale hair glimmer romantically.

Rishid didn't even have to see his master's face in order to know the expression it wore at the moment. Too many a time had he stayed up, watching that young face as it slept next to his.

To feel twelve-year-old Marik's each and every breath, as the boy clutched onto his shirt after one of his horrid nightmares… To smooth down the youngster's silky hair as it stuck insistently on his sweat-covered brow after an intense soccer game with his friends in Yango…

Those tanned hands which now had bony fingers and wide, clean nails…Rishid had seen them small and chubby, as they grasped desperately on his shoulders. And those eyes…those crystallized velvet eyes, which had turned in such a short period of time from wide and careful and innocent to long-lashed, sensual and lustrous.

He knew Marik's divinely outlined lips. He knew them enough to realize they were now pursed skeptically against each other, letting his breaths slip in a short, erratic rhythm. There was something going on that Marik didn't like. In fact, Marik wasn't very happy at all, right now. And Rishid instantly knew that if someone had dared hurt him…they would never live to regret it.

For they had never had a child- a brother and a son. They had never been blessed with the warm body of a son, sleeping next to theirs during cold nights. They had never smelled his breath or watched him sleep, and they had never seen him weep, or scream, or smile. Really, truly smile. They didn't know.

"Is something wrong… Master?" Rishid daintily asked, not approaching the other any more for fear of disrupting his trail of thought.

Marik shook his head quickly, making golden hair fan around his head exquisitely.

"No, no…Nothing's wrong…it's just…" Marik started while gripping the golden butterfly slightly tighter than necessary in his hand.

Rishid kept silent, knowing this commotion definitely had something to do with him, somehow.

"Back then, when I asked you to come with me to Mercury…" he started, but Rishid interrupted immediately.

"I thought I've already told you, Master…I made that choice because I thought you had to learn how to live by yourself…"

'No matter how much it hurt…' the servant thought.

"At least you had a choice, back then!" Marik suddenly exclaimed, turning around abruptly around and sending his golden hair to whip violently around his head. He pierced Rishid with his customary eerie gaze and swiftly turned his eyes back to the ground when he met Rishid' s questioning green orbs.

"Now, we'll have to split again…" Marik murmured begrudgingly, earning an involuntary sharp intake of breath from Rishid' s part. Rishid was embarrassed for letting his self-control slip like that, but the prospect of being left alone once again, after having reunited with his master once more, was not very optimistic.

"Do you think I like it?" Marik suddenly questioned, his lavender eyes shooting up to meet his servant's once more, then sliding back down again "It must be done, though…It turns out Serenity has secret links to Earth and so does Ryou and Yugi…" Marik said, choosing not to worry his friend with the spirits' existence yet. "Well, you know about me and my links to Earth…we have to go there."

He turned to Rishid' s downcast eyes meaningfully, almost crumbling at the sight of his forlorn servant "However, we can't take everyone else along with us…it's too dangerous. We can't just leave them either, of course, so we thought…" Marik paused and turned to look away "We thought you should take them somewhere safe…in another planet…while we go to Earth. We'll all escape here together. Some of us will go to Earth and you will lead the others somewhere safe…it's the only way to get things done. When we're finally rid of Kaiba…we'll meet again." At this, Marik's voice broke a little.

Rishid nodded rigidly, seemingly having made up his mind. "Whatever you wish, Master…I will do as you wish." He concluded bowing his head respectfully.

Marik swiftly raised his head, his eyes stormy and clouded with anger. "Oh stop it! Stop it!" he suddenly shouted, shaking Rishid out of his thoughts "Stop it with the Master ordeal! I don't know why you do it, anyway!! I hate it!!" the blonde beauty shouted and shook Rishid' s massive shoulders, forcing the other to raise his eyes enough to make eye contact with him.

Marik and Rishid were both thoroughly shaken to spot tears in each other's eyes.

"Stop calling me 'Master'…brother" Marik said silently, as he crashed into Rishid' s wide embrace, only to find it hadn't changed one bit, neither in warmth nor in comfort, from the last time he had experienced it as a child. He felt his older friend's hands wrap securely around his back, and found waves of bittersweet memories rolling around his heart.

"I'll miss you…I promise, this time, I'll come back sooner…" Marik drawled, allowing his head to rest intimately in that familiar warm crook of the other's neck. He traced lazy circles on the slim cloth of Rishid' s long robe and found it fascinating that he felt as though nothing had changed…except himself. He had grown a little from the last time.

Rishid chose to say nothing, simply too moved to speak, or even breathe. That feeling, the one he'd thought he'd never experience again…it was still there, in Marik's soft even breaths and in the boy's strangely innocent behavior. The core. Marik's core- the soft and warm and pliant one. The one Marik never let anyone see, endeavoring eternally to cover it with layers of seduction and beauty and glamour.

"I love you, brother." Marik's deepened voice came silently, not really expecting an answer, but not rejecting it either. To Rishid' s ears, it was still the childish tone he had heard so many times before, so many wonderful times before.

He decided he should give an answer anyway, just as he had all those other times.

"I love you too, Marik."

And as Marik let himself slip in the comfort of knowing he was loved by someone for what he truly was, for once, a slim, pale, unseen hand grazed the nearby wall.

Eyes that dripped blood opened defiantly in the wilderness.

Bakura mutely stared.

* * *

"Thank God you changed your mind about going to Earth! I mean, c'mon…Earth? Let's get real…that place sucks."

Although Ryou thought whether or not the place 'sucks' was not to be considered a critical factor when searching for a hideout, he doubted Rika would understand. He thus decided on nodding quietly, while toying idly with Serenity's long auburn hair.

"Why?" Serenity suddenly asked, making all the others stare at her confusedly.

"Pardon?" Rika asked curiously, trying to understand where Serenity was getting at, exactly.

"Why is Earth such a forbidden place, anyway? I mean, have you even been there to begin with?" Serenity pressed on, not noticing the appraising glance Ryou was giving her.

"Well…no." Rika said incredulously "But Serena, you can't be serious!! That place sucks- everybody says so!!"

Serenity looked ready to grant Rika a full-fledged answer about just how well she knew about Earth, when the sound of the door opening was heard.

Everyone turned to the entrance's direction, only to see Marik and his trusty follower, Rishid, walk inside, looking as regal and as superior as ever.

No one seemed to notice the small, somewhat blissful smile that was etched upon Rishid' s face, or the strange placated look in Marik's usually hyperkinetic eyes. Ryou, however, did notice something else.

His Darkside was not there. Bakura wasn't with Marik.

Having dismissed Bakura's presence the entire morning, Ryou was pretty much sure the spirit had followed what seemed his only recently- acquired friend, Marik. Ryou was reluctant to admit he was still a bit shaken- if not jealous- about that. Why had he been left completely in the dark about Marik and Bakura's periodical little meetings?

Now, however, that Ryou couldn't see Bakura anywhere near Marik, he was getting slightly worried. Bakura was not in his golden ring- Ryou would know it if he was…No…Ryou had thought Bakura was with Marik…but he actually wasn't. If he wasn't in his ring or with Marik…then where was he?

"Hey guys!" Marik spoke suddenly "Ready to kick some KC guard behinds, or what?"

"Sure man! The beer supplies are running low…" Kenji idly commented.

Rishid sighed "I've been wondering where those beers had been disappearing to…"

Marik smiled briefly and tried not to crumble with dread when his eyes involuntarily fell on Ryou's albino form…why did he have to remind the blonde of Bakura so much? Ryou's hair…his pale skin- the mirror image of the one Marik longed so much to see…But who was he kidding? Bakura would likely never want to see him again, locked forever in his golden ring…the ring secured around Ryou's neck. The only thing Ryou would never part from…

Suddenly, Marik felt strangely envious. Ryou was so lucky- so lucky. He had the power to be with Bakura always- never to part from the ancient spirit…there was nothing Marik wouldn't give in order to have that. He idly wondered what it would be like to share a body with Bakura- to become more part of him than humanly possible…To be a part of his being, his soul…Ryou didn't even know how lucky he was…

How could Ryou scorn that fortune, and wish Bakura had never come to him…how could he?

"Well, any ideas on how we can get out of this place, Marik?" Rika asked conversationally, pushing Marik out of his thoughts.

"Well, curious as it may seem…I believe I might have come up with a plan…Rishido, we do have the necessary…equipment…for what I told you earlier, don't we?" Marik demanded, all the time sporting his trademark tricky grin.

Rishid slowly nodded "Of course we do Master"

The small reprimanding glare that Marik sent towards Rishid due to the use of the honorable suffix went unnoticed. Marik turned back to the others, his features forming an attractive grin.

"Then let's get to work."

* * *

Josh Grey was a very bored Kaiba guard at the moment. In fact, he was too bored. He was so bored, that he would gladly play one of those uninteresting virtual games he kept seeing people on this planet play with a passion.

That Kaiba moron had forced them to come to this boring planet in order to kill that sorry scientist posse and their white haired guinea pig. It didn't come as a real surprise when they realized they had to wait for someone to exit that small hut before they could kill them and get it over with.

Naturally, no one had come out for two days already. There was no question they would eventually come out, it's just that Josh would kill himself of boredom before they actually did. He, and another sixteen KC guards.

Unfortunately for our dear Josh, every time he dared make a move as if to move away from that boring house, from which no one was bound to come out of for at least another week, his superior commander forced him to stay on his post.

Now, during midnight, Josh was restless. He had nothing to do and wasn't sleepy for having done absolutely nothing that whole day, except for simply sitting there and waiting for someone to come out of that house.

Seeing, however, as Josh's superior had left them alone out there and had actually gone to 'explore the planet', which really meant he was somewhere drinking his head off, Josh saw absolutely no reason for having to stay out there at his post. He chose instead to start walking towards that sorry hut they were supposed to be guarding. Luckily for him, his fellow guards had given up on anyone coming out of that hut for that night and had all gone to sleep around the house.

Being bored out of his mind and not really wanting to get too far away from his post in case his superior came back, Josh decided the best thing he could do was explore the place a little bit. He was observing the strange fungus-like plants outside the hut's doorstep, when he suddenly heard a strange sound from his left.

Intrigued, Josh set out to discover the origins of the strange sound. He walked a bit to the left, but saw nothing, and decided he had better forget about it. When he turned back around, however, he noticed something he hadn't seen there before. Two people.

It took a moment for Josh to remember exactly where he had seen those beautiful, shining eyes and that incredible, glittery hair. Just as he was caught trying to understand whether he had to lower his weapon or not, however, something hit the back of Josh's head form the back. Furious as to what was making all those annoying sounds and throwing things at him, Josh turned around.

And then the world went black.

Oriental Virnian music could be heard in the distance as Marik shook his beautiful head, making his hair flow around his face. He turned towards the hut's roof and saw the outline of a dark-haired spiky head. He smiled, winked at Yugi's direction and rushed to haul the fallen guard's body inside the house, before his bloodthirsty guard friends woke up and realized he was missing.

When the guard was safely put in the house, Marik turned to Taichi.

"Wear his clothes and tie him up. Oh, and give me his communicator!!" He demanded. Taichi swiftly did as he was told and gave Marik Josh's communicator. Just then, Yugi came running in from the back yard. He had just climbed down from the roof.

"I threw him a couple o' rocks from the yard…" he said while trying to catch his breath.

"I see…" said Marik, while fiddling with the guard's communicator.

"Poor rocks…" commented Serenity, making the other girls laugh. The auburn- haired girl noticed, however, that Ryou had not been exactly acting like himself that morning. It was as though something was bothering him, and he wasn't' telling. Marik was also acting somewhat strangely and had thrown Ryou a few bitter, pained looks when he thought the albino wasn't looking. Had Ryou and Marik gotten into a fight or something?" That was the only thing Serenity could imagine, based on the boys' demeanor. Nevertheless, it was unlikely, since Marik and Ryou spoke quite casually to each other.

If not a fight, then what? Why were Ryou so preoccupied and Marik so bitter?

Suddenly, Marik pushed the communicator in Kenji's hands. "It's the second frequency. You know what to do." He simply told the other boy, making Kenji nod. Meanwhile, Taichi had come back wearing guard Josh's clothes and reassuring the others that Josh was safely bound and gagged.

Kenji then opened the communicator in the frequency indicated by Marik and spoke in a voice much heavier and cockier than his own.

"Unit 1 here. Unit 1 here." He said to the machine. There was some static heard and then an immediate response.

"KC Kleria Base here. Commander Tomson speaking. What is it Unit 1?"

Kenji, Marik and Serenity exchanged alerted glances, before Kenji spoke his next words.

"Mission complete. I repeat. Mission complete. Request vessel for return to Kleria immediately."

Serenity winked at Kenji's flawless imitation of a guard's voice. Kenji smiled and sobered up immediately, when he heard the base's response.

"Are you sure, Unit 1? Are they all dead?" the base commander asked.

"Affirmative, commander. They're dead all right."

A small pause, enough to alert every one.

"I don't trust you. Why didn't Commander Hok call us?"

Serenity was panicked to say the least, she grabbed on to the composed Ryou for support. Marik was miraculously keeping his cool, and luckily, so was Kenji.

"He is busy taking care of the bodies, sir!" Kenji quickly made up what he thought was a passable excuse.

Another one of those mind-blowing pauses.

"Password?" Came the one word that could break everything apart in one split second. Marik decided this was the appropriate time to start worrying, if not downright panicking, which was exactly what Serenity was doing. Ryou tried to keep her and the others quiet, while Kenji tried to think of what to say.

"Password?" repeated the hardened voice, even louder this time.

Kenji exchanged glances with Marik, completely at a loss for words. Salvation came from the most unlikely source possible.

"Say 'Balcrow'" Taichi whispered in Kenji's ear, receiving a strange glance from his friend.

"Just say it!!!" Taichi hissed insistently, forcing Kenji to look at the communicator instead of him.

"…Balcrow…" Kenji said a little numbly, expecting nothing short of a full blow in the face, although the person at the other end of the communicator surely couldn't reach him.

Another one of those pauses, more impending and ominous than any other time. The party held their breath in tangible trepidation.

"…Correct. Good job, Unit 1. Standby for KC ship. It'll reach Yango in approximately seven hours. Base out."

And just like that, it was over. Serenity and the rest let out a huge breath they had been holding, before they realized they had actually made it. They started squealing and performing the victory dance in front of now-struggling Josh's eyes.

"I can't believe it!!" Kenji shouted, as he trapped Taichi' s head and ruffled the boy's hair mercilessly. "How did you know??"

Taichi laughed carelessly as he pushed Kenji off him, finally. He pointed at furious-looking Josh's direction "That dork was worried he'd forget it and had it written on his forearm! I saw it when I took his clothes off- tragic experience, by the way!!"

Marik laughed along with the others, knowing the first part of their plan had been successful. Something didn't allow him to laugh so happily, however. It was something akin to a hole- a hole in his heart. A hole by his side, where Bakura usually stood. Marik honestly regretted shouting and trying to control Bakura before, but it was now too late…now Bakura was locked in his ring for good, and was probably not coming out any time soon.

Marik was so distracted with putting up a cool demeanor while pondering, in fact, that he didn't see Ryou's slightly anxious expression, or the worried looks the boy kept throwing towards his well-concealed, empty, golden ring.

* * *

Commander Hok was pissed. He had just spent an entire night betting on stupid games in a Virnian bar, and lost each and every time. Now that he had come back to the tranquil hut to find fourteen sleeping guards and one guard missing, he was even more pissed.

He kicked his inferiors in the ribs in order to wake them up, and swore to have Josh Grey executed the moment he laid eyes on that despicable slimy creature.

A sudden shout from his right, however, didn't allow the good commander to ponder about where his brain-dead fellow had gone. Hok certainly wasn't expecting some action to transpire at five o'clock in the morning, although he cursed himself for not expecting it.

He saw what the other guards were shouting about and gasped. The small hut's door was wide open, letting purple smoke float out of it. Hok recognized it immediately. Poisonous mist!!

"Masks on!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and was glad to see all his subordinates follow his commands. Hok knew that if poisonous mist was coming from within that house, then everyone in that house had to be dead. Poisonous mist was an instant killer- it infiltrated the circulatory system first and destroyed the nerves soon after. Not even notorious Marik Ishtar could seduce _that_ murderer…

'Some of our guys must have thrown a poison-bomb in there. Well, can't say I'm sorry…Kaiba might have told us not to hurt them while they were still in there, but I was beginning to get a little bored, anyway…' the commander thought, as he led his party in the house, in order to make sure Marik Ishtar and his friends really were dead. Unfortunately for many KC guards, Ishtar Marik had the bad habit of reappearing suddenly after being presumed dead.

Hok, being the smartest, coolest, most impressive guard KaibaCorp had ever seen, would never let that happen to him. Oh no…he would bring Kaiba Ishtar and Bakura's head in a platter so as to assure his universal recognition as the Greatest Security Guard The Galaxies Had Ever Seen…and maybe get a promotion while at it.

Lost in his arrogant thoughts, Hok wasn't really focusing on the present when he entered the poisoned hut. He would soon find out that was a lethal mistake.

More and more KC guards warily entered the motionless, seemingly dead house after the commander. Soon, all fifteen of them were inside. The door closed behind the last one, making the spineless fool turn around in alert and reflexively shoot.

He received a few hushed reprimands from his colleagues and was soon convinced he was indeed overreacting. Thus, when that very same guard heard a very curious murmuring sound come from his back, he didn't care to turn around, thinking it was just two of his fellow guards talking. He didn't have time to react when he felt the hard surface of a metallic ornament hit the back of his neck.

The sound of his falling body attracted two of his friends, who were horrified to turn around and see him fallen. They made a move so as to shout and warn the others, but found something of a little more importance to tend to.

Like the bald man who was hitting them with a metallic rod.

And that was the last thing those two guards thought, as the rod hit a very soft spot on both their heads and immobilized them permanently. They would not be getting back up.

The small alcoves of the hut's corridor seemed to be the ideal location for surprise attacks. Most guards were wiped out very much in the same manner. Some managed to scream, some didn't. Nevertheless, all doors were locked and there were no windows in Yango's deserted home. One by one, the guards fell.

The house was transmuted from a quiet, peaceful hut into a cave of screams and death. The girls hid in an alcove and waited for the others to 'finish' what they had to do. They didn't kill when they could avoid it, naturally, but most KC guards did not seem very willing to go down without a fight…and those fights were usually to the death.

Marik dealt with the last survivor. The now not-so-optimistic Commodore Hok. The lithe boy didn't even bother with hurrying, seeing as the commodore had nowhere to run. The man's eyes widened from behind his oxygen mask, as he instantly recognized the glowing eyes and the tall form.

"M-Marik!"

A small smile. A wink of the eye.

"Very good, commodore. Ten points for the fearless leader." The sensual voice was heard. Previously, Hok had been looking forward to hearing that voice scream in pain and desperation. Now he was slowly starting to realize someone else was probably going to be doing the screaming today…

"W-Why aren't you wearing a mask? P-Poison mist…" Hok started saying, but was interrupted by Marik.

Marik simply smiled. "Correct, commander. Poison mist is very dangerous…Purple-colored smoke, however, is not…"

Hok's eyes widened ominously at his own stupidity for not even taking time to analyze situations before rushing to conclusions. He was so taken with his own idiocy that he didn't notice the glimmer of the golden-hilted dagger in Marik's hand.

"You'll pay for what you did, you son of a bitch!" Hok cried, as he thoughtlessly pounced on Marik, producing a knife of his own and coming very close to ripping Marik's throat open with it.

"Not to fast, Hocky!!" Marik shouted, as he defended himself from Hok's next vicious attack. The purple mist and the darkness, however, were blinding, and the two fighters could not see each other's moves.

In a move of pure reflex Marik threw his armed hand lopsidedly, causing a blood-curling scream to escape his opponent. Marik saw the dark outline of Hok's figure crash to the ground. Had Marik been able to see more clearly, he would have noticed thick, red liquid slipping from the commodore's face, as the man covered his left eye with his hand.

"Damn you…damn you to hell…" the man whispered, as he prepared for another attack.

Only when Marik's dagger's golden hilt hit the back of his head was he rendered unconscious, letting out a final shout as he fell.

"Goodbye, commander." Marik simply stated, his long limbs untangling from the limp man and walking away slowly.

He came face to face with nine dark figures, all of them looking at him with remorse and understanding written over their faces.

Marik smiled bitterly. "It's okay. Just take their clothes, weapons and communicators and lets get the hell out of here…the cops will be here any minute." He said, as he himself got to work with removing an unconscious guard's outfit.

Approximately ten minutes later, ten very peculiar KC guards exited a purple smoke-filled hut in Virna, Yango. The crowd that had assembled around the house eyed the strangers they had been accustomed to seeing the last few days suspiciously. Somehow, the guards were a little different than they had been the last time they were seen in public. For one, there was an unusual amount of female guards amongst them.

"Hey, you!!!" a Yango civilian shouted in the direction of a male brunette guard, who turned towards the crowd in aggravation. "What went on in there? We heard screams!"

The guard's unusual mahogany eyes flashed briefly under his blue cap. "KaibaCorp business! Get back to your jobs, people!" the man said loudly and raised his very impressive laser gun so as to make his point even clearer.

Luckily for the group, the people took the hint and started to disperse form around them while still throwing them suspicious glances.

"I hate people in this place! Why do they have to be so nosy all the time?" Serenity questioned in aggravation, aching to take Ryou's hand in her own but knowing it was impossible for the time being.

"That's Yango…deal with it." Yugi begrudgingly commented, while making sure to walk as cockily and as rigidly as a guard.

"So, Marik…" the brunette man who had spoken to the crowd before turned to the _pale_ skinned, blonde boy on his right. "Where to?"

"We have to find the spaceship KC will send for us, Ryou…our seven hours are almost up, so it'll be arriving any moment now. The only ship platform I know of is the one in Pegasus's tower…"

"You're kidding, right? Please say yes!" Rika implored the blonde, earning an amused gaze from Taichi.

"Sorry, but no." Marik simply said, earning a string of complaints and curses from positively everyone in the group. Thus, the small company walked to the tall tower, earning a whole lot of inquisitive looks from everyone that happened to pass by. Too bad no one had the guts to ask a bunch of KaibaCorp guards where they were going and why. Their disguises helped a lot there, since it wouldn't serve if Marik presented himself as one of the locals, or if Ryou showed his snow-white waist-long hair.

Unbeknownst to the small company of worried friends, one single eye opened back in the deserted hut. Blood dripped down Commander Hok's face, as the gaping hole that was once his left eye oozed the liquid of life in long strings. The man reached for his communicator, only to find it was missing. He didn't even bother with searching the bodies of his fallen friends, since he knew their devices were also gone. After taking hold of his blue shirt and ripping a long ring of cloth from it, he tied it around his wounded skull.

"You'll pay one day, Ishtar….I swear I'll make you pay."

* * *

"Lena, that makeup kit of yours does wonders! I can't believe Peg didn't recognize Yugi! My God, he even ushered us in!!" Tea chatted in an excited tone, only to earn a reprimanding glare from Marik and Ryou.

"Okay, okay, already! I get the picture…I was just trying to lighten the mood!"

"Shhhh!!!!!" Ryou, Serenity, Marik and Yugi simultaneously rushed to say. Tea briefly thought about what that mass reflex meant, but was too distracted with what she saw next.

"Oh no! Not that elevator again! There goes dinner!!" she said, pointing at the elevator and earning a questioning glance from the man Pegasus had ordered to escort them to the KC ship.

"Uhhh…She hates elevators! You know how it is at the Base…hehe…lots of elevators there too…hehe…" Yugi swiftly tried to amend, also earning a death glare form Marik. The tall blonde was slowly beginning to realize why Bakura was constantly aggravated with all these people.

Bakura…

Would Marik ever see him again? Where was he now, when Marik felt more alone and deserted than any other time? Why wouldn't he come out? Had it all been a lie? All the words and the promises and…and the feelings…

Did Bakura have feelings?

Oh, what a stupid question to ask…Of course he did. He'd gotten angry hadn't he? Then again, he was always angry…but last night he had been soft and understanding and…well, sweet. Would that ever happen again?

With all those distracting thoughts about the ancient spirit, Marik didn't even have time to fully register they had already gone down and were facing the KC ship that had come for them.

The ship had a ramp lowered and was obviously expecting the guards to go in before taking off.

"Well, if that's all, I'll be going now. Thank you for everything." The guide Peg had given them simply said with a fake smile and pressed the 'up' button in the elevator. She was gone soon enough.

Marik was left alone with his friends, who looked at each other in obvious relief.

"We're not done yet." Marik gave the needless reminder earning an annoyed glare form Lena.

"Sheesh, forgive us for being happy!" she said, and walked away in irritation. Many shot Marik sympathetic looks as they went by, Rishid and Ryou included.

Only then did Marik start to realize how tense he'd been that whole day. Bakura's seemingly permanent disappearance along with a fight with fourteen guards could do that to a man.

As they reached the ramp and started climbing it, Marik's warning stopped them.

"Remember what we said. First we immobilize them, then we take off."

Ryou nodded determinedly as he walked up next to Serenity. It took a minute for everyone to reach the top of the ramp and step on the platform of the spaceship floor. The first obstacle came into view. Two KC guards. Real KC guards.

"Thank God you iced that Ishtar scumbag," one of the guards told Ryou, without really looking at the boy "Kaiba would have never gotten off our case if we hadn't finished him off."

After that, the guard and his consort turned around to open the nearby door, which, as Ryou assumed, led to the bridge of the small pod. Rishid signaled Ryou and, together, they hit the two guards in the back so as to render them unconscious.

"Take the bodies off the ship!" Ryou whispered to the others. Marik nodded quickly and took hold of a guard's foot. Kenji mimicked the action for another guard and they had soon pulled both bodies down the ramp and off the ship.

When Ryou saw they were ready he approached the door, which now had a cardkey on its reception. He pushed the card further in and heard the satisfying click of a lock opening.

Just as Ryou had assumed, this vessel was identical to the one that had carried them from the KC base to Yango before. He found himself in the bridge and came face to face with the three drivers of the ship.

"Hey!" one of them said in alert "Hey, you're not-"

But his words were soon interrupted as Rishid, Ryou, Kenji and later Marik, Taichi and even Serenity fought with them. As Marik punched someone's face, he fought to keep Bakura's distracting image from entering his head and focused solely on the task at hand. At least he tried to.

When finally they had gotten rid of the last three foes, the boys had to carry the bodies back down. When the others were heading back to the ship, however, and thoughtful Marik was left behind to pull the last guard's body a last few inches away, something happened.

Marik, seemingly lost too deep in thought, didn't realize the movement behind his back. Serenity, Ryou and everyone else, however, who were now on the ship, saw the elevator of the tower come back down. Someone stepped outside quietly. It was definitely a large laser gun he was holding and he had a disgusting cloth wrapped around his head, covering his left eye.

Serenity considered shouting, but knew that the moment she made a sound, the psycho with the gun would shoot her and she would certainly fail to save Marik!!

"Ryou, do something!!!" she urged in a hushed whisper, getting a closer look at Ryou's somewhat frantic look. If Ryou moved, he would be shot! If they even dared make a sound of warning, they would also be shot, since that maniac was eyeing them all in that self-satisfied sort of disgusting way.

Ryou turned is eyes back at Marik in frantic worry and Rishid mirrored his action, only tenfold.

Why hadn't Marik seen anyway?

The tanned boys eye's seemed a little dull, focused idly at what he was currently doing, which was absolutely nothing. He was just standing there, unmoving and numb, lost in unknown thoughts.

The half-blind murderer stopped dead in his tracks. He raised his gun and aimed straight at Marik's head, making everyone realize that they would witness the boy's execution if they didn't act quickly. It all played in slow motion in Ryou's mind, as a small click was heard from the weapon's holster. It was ready. The maniac grinned murderously.

Only then, when that small clicking sound was heard, did Marik realize the environment was unusually quiet all of a sudden. He turned slightly to see his friends' terrorized faces and instantly knew something bad was behind him.

"Ryou…" Serenity whispered in exasperation, as if there was something the boy could do.

Marik turned around slowly, his brilliant eyes widening, as he came face to face with his grinning executioner.

"Good" Commander Hok said "I wanted to see your face as I slaughtered you…but shooting you is fine too, I guess, although less satisfactory…"

Marik's eyes narrowed ominously as he made a gesture to the others from behind his back. 'Go!' he motioned with his hand 'Get out of here!'

"You idiot! " Hok sadistically continued "You really thought we wouldn't see you? You thought this tower didn't have surveillance cams or what? Idiot! "

Marik closed his rainbow eyes. Too caught up in his feelings, he had been. He had thought not so long before that he had no time for such feelings. Focusing on his own stupid emotions would get him no where- it would destroy him in the end.

He had been thinking about Bakura- too preoccupied trying to imagine what Bakura really looked like and what his real name was. The possibilities…they had kept Marik going…now there were no possibilities.

No red eyes to show him the image of what he thought he could never touch. No silver hair to sweep across his vision and blind his eyes with brilliance. No clinging laughter, no feathery touches- no passion. He was thinking about what he had lost when he could have been focusing on the present- on the murderer that would undoubtedly kill him.

Hok smiled as his finger tightened slightly around the lethal trigger.

"Idiot…" he murmured in blind glee, as the girls covered their eyes from above.

Marik lowered his gaze. Yes…he was an idiot, wasn't he? Although he knew he should call himself an idiot for failing to notice Hok had been there all along, he strangely felt he was an idiot for another reason…for snapping at Bakura and pushing him away.

"MARIK!!" Serenity shrieked at the top of her lungs, when she heard the deafening siren of a laser gun being released.

Flashes of white light went off everywhere and amber eyes meld into red. Skinny legs kicked the floor and wind hit a pale face. Threads of sparkling silver flew everywhere as the wig was pushed back- discarded much like a disgusting abomination.

Pale fingers curled into fists as the boy literally flew over the ramp in one, unearthly jump. Marik, still dazed from the numbness of a near-death experience, literally didn't know what hit him when he felt something hard push him down from the side.

And then, all he could hear was the siren of a laser, and all he could see was a cloud of white, which had fallen softly over his face, covering his eyes.

"Ryou…?" the tanned boy meant to question, but soon heard an unearthly scream coming from the man who nearly murdered him. Marik was pulled up by the man he thought was Ryou and realized finally that Taichi had shot Hok with the laser weapon he had acquired from a fallen guard before.

Marik watched in fascination, his body pressed close to Ryou's pliant one and his mouth idly stuck on the soft, exposed skin of Ryou's shoulder, as the man who'd almost killed him vaporized in rings of crumbling dust.

"Oh my God, Marik, are you okay?!" Was heard Lena's despondent shriek from somewhere. Marik didn't really want to reassure her right now. She could she he was fine, couldn't she? He'd much rather savor the touch of Ryou's curiously burning skin and the albino's thread-like hair that was pressed between their chests and hands, which clutched frantically at one another.

"Ryou! Bring him up here! C'mon! We have to get away!" Serenity cried, and Marik saw her instructing Taichi and Kenji to take he ship's conn.

Marik found it somewhat strange that Ryou didn't even budge. In fact, he didn't answer his girlfriend's call either. Having completely come back to his senses, Marik meant to escape the other boy's rigid grasp and hot exhalations.

"I'm okay, Ryou…" he said lightly, pushing against the other's shoulders so as to convince the albino to let go, at long last.

Just then, the white haired one raised his palm and took a strong hold of Marik's chin, forcing the other to turn his face so as to meet his eyes.

Suddenly, Marik's hands stopped their restraining motion, and his thigh, which had insistently been trying to escape from between the other boy's legs, froze.

Why, oh why, did fate have to play such fickle games with him?

Why couldn't he have realized the reason 'Ryou's' skin had been burning was not because the boy was really warm, it was because it had been touching Marik.

And to Marik, each and every one of Bakura's touches burned.

So did the eyes that bore into his own, filling the recesses of his crystal, amethyst soul with their scorching fires. Ryou's eyes were red.

"I'm not Ryou." was the simple statement, paralyzing Marik's brain and weakening his knees enough to make it impossible to stand.

Neither of them said anything as Bakura grabbed the back part of Marik's knees and the boy's back. When the albino wordlessly stood and walked towards the spaceship entrance, none of the others dared speak to him, having somehow realized that their albino friend was not the same. It was as if Bakura's frigid aura brought with it a warning signal: 'speak to me and die.'

"Bakuraaa…" Marik drawled on quite uncharacteristically, provoking raised eyebrows from Rika and Lena, who were standing nearby. There was absolutely no reaction from Bakura, however.

"Don't carry me like a woman!" Marik protested, not daring to look straight at the spirit's emotionless eyes, of course.

"I'll carry you like I want to carry you." Bakura said, defiantly tightening his hold on Marik's body and deliberately stumbling on a bump on the floor in order to make Marik yelp. The blonde reflexively wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck, biting back an embarrassed groan when he realized what he'd just done.

"Now shut up." Bakura simply added as an afterthought, his red eyes fixed rigidly forward.

The happiness of unknown origin that was spilling over Marik's heart threatened to make his thundering heartbeat even quicker.

Marik nodded lightly and, not used to being pampered like this, found himself at a loss as of what to do except from keeping his eyes at the floor when faced with his other friends' inquisitive glances. Even Serenity raised an eyebrow when she saw them enter the spaceship. She shouted for Taichi to pull up the ramp and depart.

Seeing as Bakura wasn't about to put him down any time soon, Marik thought he might as well make himself comfortable. While tightening his hold around Bakura's neck slightly, he allowed his head to fall pleasantly over Bakura's shoulder.

"So, are you still pissed about yesterday?" Marik eagerly chatted, a thing his friends hadn't seen him do for what seemed like a long time. Bakura entered the elevator that was located in the bridge and pressed the button, which read 'Dorms'.

"Shut the hell up, Mariku!" came the curt reply, followed by the slightly strained motion of Bakura's exiting the elevator. Now they were located in a desolate corridor, with doors at either side of it.

"Oh, I see…" Marik said with a lazy smile, not at all insulted but rather happy instead. His hand that was closest to Bakura's chest started to trace small circles over the blue fabric of the albino's blouse, smoothing it.

And as Bakura very nearly froze by the sensation of Marik's actions, he clenched his jaw, sending a muscle pumping at his cheek.

Marik smiled, and allowed his head to sink further over the albino's shoulder. He caught a strange spicy smell and realized it must be Bakura's special smell. But then again…in this case…was it Ryou or Bakura's smell? It was Ryou's body after all…it must be Ryou's.

But why did Marik feel like it was Bakura' s? Maybe it was Ryou and Bakura's combined, or something...

Marik felt remorseful about never being able to feel Bakura's real skin, or smell Bakura's real smell, or see Bakura's true eyes, although he had a feeling he knew what they looked like already…

There was a definite difference between talking to Bakura while he was an intangible spirit and talking to Bakura while he had a body. A real, human body…

The warmth of Ryou Bakura's body…the touch of the pale skin and the hot breaths…they gave life to Bakura's dead red eyes. They made all the forbidden, sensual fantasies come true. They gave…possibilities. But Ryou was his own person, and it wasn't Bakura's body in question, it was Ryou's.

Ryou's…not Bakura's. It was Ryou who was alive, not Bakura. Bakura was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

Bakura's real body was buried and defiled, while his soul remained fiery and passionate in Ryou's robust skin. Marik suddenly felt angry and wronged. Why should Ryou be given a second chance in youth and not Bakura as well? Why…why…

Bakura would never be alive again. He'd be stuck in that Ring forever, cursed to watch Marik rot and die as an old man while he himself stayed in the same dead-alive state forever in his golden cage…

Not liking the direction his thoughts had taken, Marik tried to lighten the mood. He dangled his feet playfully, receiving a reprimanding glare from his carrier.

"You do know you're making it harder for me to carry you, right? And it's not exactly as though you're as light as a feather, Mariku…" Bakura precariously said. Marik smiled serenely and simply nodded.

"I know! That's why I'm doing it! In hopes of having you release me!!"

Bakura's eyes narrowed maliciously "Oh so you want to be released, do you?" he questioned.

Now that Marik was faced with the serious possibility, he wasn't sure he wanted to. Then again, he didn't really have enough time to reconsider, since he felt the hard metallic floor hit his now bruised rare.

"OUCH! You idiot! Now why'd you have to do that!? I-Bakura?" Marik looked around while standing up and rubbing his backside gingerly, noticing the shadow of sparkling silver hair swooshing around the corridor corner.

"Now wait a minute!!! Bakura!!" Marik shouted, as he went off after the guffawing dark voice, having completely forgotten about the sharp pain of his fall.

* * *

"Attention, everybody! We've plotted a course for Earth. If we're lucky and if nobody spotted us leaving Yango, we'll drop Serenity, Ryou , Yugi, Tea and Marik on Earth in about fifteen hours! Just relax kiddos! Hit the red button on each door panel if you have a problem! It's your contact to the bridge!" Kenji's voice was heard from the speakers, and then, much to Bakura's aggravation and Marik's delight, they put some music on.

"Aargh! What are those disgusting incoherent sounds!?" Bakura roared while covering his ears. He was sitting with his back propped up against the wall and Marik was right next to him. They had chosen to visit the ship's recreational room and meet the others. Serenity had wisely stayed away from Bakura while in Ryou's body, earning curious glances from Rika and Lena as to why she was staying away from her boyfriend.

"Are you serious? You don't like G4? That's, like, the hottest group around right now!!" Lena commented excitedly, giving Bakura a playful glare and receiving a real one in return.

"Well I don't like it. Sounds more like things breaking than music to me." Bakura said while crossing his arms.

"Yes, that's why you're considered ancient…" Marik couldn't help but point out amusedly.

"Oh do us a favor and piss off, will ya?" Bakura promptly answered.

Silence after that. Neither Marik nor Bakura spoke, each one lost in his own thoughts. Finally, it was the exotic blonde who broke the silence.

"So…where were you?" he simply asked.

"Huh?" Bakura confusedly asked, not bothering to meet Marik's eyes, which were now somewhat shyly turned towards his.

"Where did you go all day yesterday? Why did you leave?" Marik questioned quietly, so as not to allow the others to hear the conversation and how important it was to him.

Bakura pretended not to take notice of Marik's slightly broken voice and turned his eyes away instead, as he allowed his fingers to play with his trousers' cloth.

"I thought it was quite obvious at this point that you pissed me off." He neutrally said.

Marik lowered his eyes "Yes, and I'm sorry about that…I was about to apologize when you disappeared…"

Bakura allowed his eyes to turn towards Marik's bent form for a mere second. Then he pursed his lips and turned away again.

"I went in my ring for a while…Then I came out again…I was around, just…hiding, I guess." He finished, pointedly ignoring Marik's questioning stares.

'Hiding?' He'd been hiding? So he hadn't been planning to leave Marik all alone?! That was…that was…a little more than fortunate.

"What about you?" Bakura suddenly questioned, forcing Marik out of his trance and attracting the blonde's attention.

"Hm?" Marik confusedly murmured.

"Why didn't you see that bastard trying to kill you?" Bakura inquired, looking carefully at each one of Marik's expressions and savoring being able to observe them so vibrantly through Ryou's living eyes. When looked at through living eyes, Marik was always different. By having a body and being able to feel, Bakura could finally experience for himself the reason why Marik was considered so intoxicating and attractive. Only through the senses can a man understand the concept of sensation. And Marik had much sensation to offer.

He had so much sensuality, in fact, that his naturally glossy lips lured the albino impossibly, coupled only by the shimmer of his entrancing eyes. Bakura didn't even notice, as he stretched his own hand and took Marik's chin in his grasp. Only when he felt that yet unfamiliar softness did he register he really was touching the boy.

He tilted Marik's face enough to meet his eyes, making Marik look away yet again.

How could he tell Bakura that the reason he hadn't noticed the murderer was because he'd been fantasizing about him?

"Well, I…wasn't focused." Marik logically concluded, panicking when he realized Bakura wasn't about to let go of his chin any time soon. Instead, he saw Bakura's face coming a bit closer, a small smile plastered on the spirit's sultry reddened lips.

"Wha-"

"Hey Marik!" was suddenly heard a familiar melodic tone. Bakura immediately let go of Marik's tilted chin and rushed to stand up. "I'll go talk to…uh, the stupid game kid." He said, as he walked away casually. Wondering idly what Bakura had been about to do before they were interrupted by Serenity, Marik watched the albino's retreating back somewhat wistfully.

Why hadn't Bakura gone back to his ring yet, anyway?

"Marik!" Serenity called again, as she took a seat next to her friend. Marik was brought back to reality and grinned. "What's up Serena? Haven't been able to talk a lot lately, have we?"

"Yeah…" Serenity said slowly, and Marik thought it was definitely selfish of him to wish Bakura could stay in Ryou's living body while Serena was waiting for her loved one's return.

"Listen, Marik…I'm sorry."

To say Marik was puzzled would be an understatement.

"For what?" he asked incredulously.

"Well…for not telling you my story with Earth before…I'm really sorry. I really do trust you, it's just…well, you know how it is with Earth…I was afraid you'd think lowly of me. But now, with Ryou, I come to see that…it doesn't really matter as much as I thought…"

Marik nodded, glad to hear his friend had finally seen the light about her predicament. He also felt guilty for not telling her about his own secrets, though. Here she was, apologizing to him about not telling him about her past when he hadn't told her anything about himself.

She didn't know about his forgotten past, or about his strange telepathic abilities to control Kaiba and Dark Bakura. Then again, the only person who knew about these things was Bakura. Some of these not even Rishid knew, a thing for which Marik wasn't altogether sorry. If Rishid knew about Marik's problems, he'd never come to rest until reassuring Marik's safety. And though Marik cherished Rishid more than anything he ever knew, he knew he'd have to learn to survive by himself, eventually, without the protection of the mother hen.

'Bakura knows everything about me…' Marik thought fleetingly, as he allowed his eyes to slip towards the albino's direction. The action didn't go unnoticed by Serenity, however, who turned to Marik and saw his thoughtful expression.

"You know, at first I was worried about you and…him." She started, having captured Marik's undivided attention, for once " But I think he's okay, after all. Sometimes, when I see you with him, I think…oh, never mind." She finished and stood up quickly, before Marik could question her upon what she'd just insinuated.

"Anyways, gotta go! I've got loads of things to do! Like take a shower, for one!! All this grease is killing me!" she chuckled lightly and rushed to leave him with his thoughts.

Marik also stood up after a while, curious as to what Bakura was so animatedly talking about with the blue-eyed girl, Tea, whom he had only recently been mocking. Resisting the tempting thought of sneaking up to fearless Bakura and scaring him to death, Marik smoothed down his black shirt and idly remembered he had to put his jewelry back on, since they weren't on Yango any more.

Suddenly self-conscious, Marik threaded his long fingers in his hair in a hopeless attempt to comb their tousled state, all the time unaware of the curious glances Rishid was sending him. How could Rishid possibly know of Marik's most secret whims to impress Bakura and –even though Marik couldn't really understand this yet- woe him?

"Hey." Marik said when he finally reached Bakura's side, savoring the fact that he managed to immediately pull Bakura's attention from everything and everyone else.

"Hey Marik!" Tea cheered " We were just talking about Ryou's music interests!"

Marik raised an eyebrow at that, turning to look at Bakura with what surely could qualify as an amused gaze, it made Bakura furious just thinking about it.

"Well, what about your music interests, _Ryou_?" Marik asked slyly, earning a glare from Bakura's part.

"None of your business, pretty dork."

"Ahh. Thought so."

Marik turned to Yugi so as to ask the young boy what his thoughts were, only to unexpectedly come face to face with two narrowed ruby orbs. Now this was certainly not Yugi.

"Uhh…hi." Marik simply said, for lack of any other intelligent remark.

"Hi." The Game King simply replied, keeping his narrowed eyes at Bakura's face at all times.

Taking advantage of the rare occasion that Bakura had a body of his own, Marik lithely steadied an elbow on Bakura's shoulder, getting a seemingly disinterested stare from the albino's part. But Bakura's sudden change in exhalation was proof enough for Marik that he had truly noticed.

"Coming, Serenity!" Tea chirped suddenly, as she waved to the others and skipped towards Serenity in order to talk to the girl. Dark Yugi, Dark Bakura and Marik were left staring at each other in silence.

"Apologize for what you said about Tea." Yugi demanded from Bakura in a regal tone. Marik sensed another fight coming up, only this time they weren't invisible…

"NO." Bakura spelled out the word sadistically, crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back comfortably to revel in Marik's touch on his shoulder.

"Apologize NOW!" Yugi demanded in the manner of a child stomping his or her foot on the ground.

"NO!" Bakura barked back while balling his hands into fists.

"Why you little…" Yugi started saying, and looked ready to pounce on Bakura, who was pulled on the side by a slightly protective Marik. And then…they heard something. Tea's voice, in the distance.

"Are you serious? So THAT"S what 'Rewind 1' is! Finally! I was getting tired of hearing the name and not knowing what it was!!"

It was as if the Armageddon had fallen. At the mentioning of that damned name, both dark spirits felt their knees weaken and they dropped to the ground.

"Bakura!" Marik yelled in alert, as he caught hold of the albino's arms, preventing him from falling to the floor. Yugi, who was less fortunate at the time, did fall. He fainted on top of Bakura, who was too unconscious to care.

_Red eyes opened and looked around in alert. Sweating fingers clenched tightly around the holster of the gun. And in the distance, a scream._

"_They're here…"_

"_I don't care what you have to do. Wreck the house if you have to. I want him in Kuru Eruna by midnight. You have two hours."_

"_I…I don't,.."_

"_I want a piece of cake too, mommy!"_

"_They're here…now!"_

"_FATHER!!"_

"_Don't cry, beautiful…soon, you will have no eyes to cry with."_

"_Would it be so hard? Would it really be so hard to focus a little bit more on your homework and a little less on your guitars?"_

"_They're here…now! They're here…for me…"_

"_Don't…don't let them take me…"_

"_Go! There's a key under the mat in front of the attic door. It unlocks the basement door! Go! Don't just stare at me, GO!!"_

"_They're here for me…now…"_

"_Be a good boy, Nehti. This is your cousin, Ryou. Ryou Bakura."_

"_It's a match! A perfect match! "_

"_Get him his favorite pyramid. I want this to be symbolic."_

"_They're here for me now, so…don't…"_

"_Your daddy has unfinished business with us, little boy…he won't be coming back."_

"_What the heck do you want with me?"_

"_Careful, you ignoramus! Don't pierce his lobe! We need him intact, you idiot!!"_

"_What…what the heck is that thing…?"_

"_They're here for me now, so don't…don't…"_

"_Don't you recognize it, Nehti? It's you."_

"_Let go of me! FATHER!!!!"_

" _All I want to do is play…is that so bad?"_

"_But…but Father...I don't know how to handle a gun…"_

"_They're here for me now, so don't…don't let…"_

"_Get that thing off of me!! That's not me! It's not- AAAHHH!!!!! AHHH!!!!!"_

"_Atemu? You bastard… What the heck are you doing here?"_

"_Don't…don't let them…I"_

"_Your dad's been making deals kid…dangerous deals."_

"_Kill 'im. Trash the car. Do whatever you want with his bitch."_

"_NO! MOM, NO!!!"_

"_Don't let them take…"_

"_The god-damn kid knows too much. Doesn't matter. He might actually prove useful to our experiment. Kill the relatives if you have to but take the brat no matter what. He can't be allowed to wander around alive."_

"_The stupid brat shot me! I can't friggin' believe it! He actually shot me!"_

"_Help! Help! Somebody, please! Help!!!"_

"_To Kuru Eruna, brat…you'll be taught real manners in that place…"_

" _OH MY GOD! What is it? What happened to you?"_

"_Ryou…Ryou…please…help…they're here…they're here for me now…they've come back for me..."_

"_So, please…please…don't let them take me! Don't! Don't leave me! Don't!!!!"_

"Yugi!! Bakura!! Snap out of it!! Please!!" Marik shouted as he shook the ancient spirits' shoulders. Tea mimicked his actions. The two spirits came back to consciousness as suddenly and as simultaneously as they had lost it.

When Bakura opened his eyes, the first thing he saw were weird green lines. It took him a while to realize this was the spaceship's ceiling. Then, there was that brilliant lavender- Marik's eyes.

"What the heck just happened? Bakura!?" he questioned a little more urgently than necessary, Serenity noted.

"I…I have no idea." Bakura answered, as he sat up and held his throbbing head with both hands, failing to notice Dark Yugi doing exactly the same thing.

"It must have been that cursed name. The name of the you-know-what operation." Marik concluded, as he watched Bakura rub his brow. He rested a hand on the albino's shoulder.

"Yeah…there were many things this time…there were names…" Bakura murmured as he squeezed his eyes in an effort to remember.

Marik's eyes widened as he took hold of both Bakura's shoulders. "Names? What names?"

Wine red eyes opened despondently, clearly apologetic.

"I…I can't remember…"

Marik's angst calmed immensely and was replaced by disappointment. He nodded his head in understanding and patted Bakura's shoulder. He made a move as if to remove his hand, but Bakura swiftly covered it with his own and kept it in place.

"I'm…I…" Bakura did his best attempt it an apology, making Marik positively stare at him with wide eyes and pat his shoulder again.

"I understand." He simply said, relieving Bakura and making the albino sigh in gratitude for not having to say sorry, the hardest word in his dictionary.

"Okay, what the heck was that simultaneous fainting about?" clueless Tea inquired suddenly, making Dark Yugi shake his head in order to get rid of the dizziness and turn to her.

"I don't know, but it only proves this slimy creature and I regrettably have something to do with each other. Maybe some link in our unknown past…I don't know…"

"What are you talking about, Yugi?" Serenity, who didn't know about kind Yugi's spirit, asked.

"Oh nothing, Serenity…he was just talking about an old friend of ours…isn't that right, Yugi?" Tea sweetly asked. As the Game King mumbled an affirmative, Marik turned back to Bakura, who was currently trying to stand up.

"He's right, you know…" Marik quietly said "This only proves he and you are the same kind of creature…you might have known each other in your past life."

Bakura huffed in irritation "I'm sure I hated him just as much back then, as I do now."

"Well don't get too exited, stupid git, because I hate you too!" was heard the Game King's accusing bark. Marik just grinned and shook his head dismissively.

He offered his hand at Bakura's direction and the other boy took it. While Marik helped Bakura stand up, Bakura cursed the Game King to oblivion and Tea to an even deeper oblivion.

"I hate being so…so…" Bakura struggled with words in order to make his point.

"Ignorant?" Marik offered lightly as he motioned for Bakura to follow him out of the recreational room.

"Yes, thank you. I hate being ignorant. I hate everything about this state. And most of all, I HATE that arrogant King of dorks!!"

Marik nodded knowingly as he exited the room after Bakura. They came face to face with a wide window, which had an immaculate view of the stars.

"Attention everyone, we're gonna reach Earth in four hours, so I propose those that are getting off in this stop had better gotten ready!" Taichi's voice echoed from the megaphone.

Marik shrugged idly. "Well, you heard the man. Earth is near. So are answers for your dilemma." He turned to the window and silently watched the stars flow by. They didn't seem to be moving at all, but Marik knew their ship was running at top warp speed.

"There are answers for you too." Bakura's quiet remark was suddenly heard, making Marik turn to him and smile slowly.

Bakura's eyes looked quite beautiful in the starlight. They took on a magenta quality, one that Marik had never seen as an eye-color before. It was magical.

"Hmm…Maybe. Who knows?" Marik wondered quizzically, turning back to watch the stars and trying to ignore the red knives that he knew were piercing holes in the back of his head.

"Yeah…" Bakura echoed, coming to stand dangerously close behind Marik, while also looking at the glowing stars. "Maybe…"

And as they watched the stars rush by, their expensive hair shining with unearthly qualities, the two of them wondered what else fate had in store for them…and whether it would keep them together or not.

AN: I really hope you liked it! Took me a day to write! The next chap isn't coming for a while, unfortunately, since I have to start and finish a new small Marik/Bakura story before I can update. I was planning on making a story called Spectral Siren, but I actually got a better idea. I've got a feeling you fans out there will love it, so I don't want to spoil the surprise. All I can say is this: it will be much better than Spectral Siren could ever be (by the way, I'll write SS also, it's just that this new thing is stuck in my head now, and it won't go away unless I write it.)

Meanwhile, on Rewind 1…in the next chap we reach Earth. Earth means Joey and co. Prepare for new characters!!! Hehehe!! Meloves this story, even though it doesn't have many reviews and it's really, really long. By the way. I've revised the first chaps of this story, so it's much better than it was at first, I hope. Anywayz, until next time we meet!! BYE BYE!!!

Heads up for the new story : **Yugioh: Nemesis**.


	14. Home sweet home

**Guys, I can't tell you how grateful I am that you've actually stood by me for so long. I'm very sorry for the slow updates, but I have a lot of work to do in school etc,etc…Anyway, I felt like continuing this story for now. I'll finish my other one soon enough (YGO:Nemesis is only 8 chapters).**

**I wanted to thank you all, and apologize beforehand for this huge chapter. There must be many typos I haven't spotted yet, but I'll recheck it, so don't worry. This chapter is HUGE, but I personally enjoyed writing it a lot. **

**I guess this chappy will be a real lollipop for Bakura/Marik fans out there, so enjoy!**

**Thanks a ton for your reviews! I swear I read them all, I just don't have time to answer any of them! I'm so sorry! Once summer vacation comes, I'll be answering reviews all day long.**

**THANKYOU SO SO SO MUCH!**

Serenity tried to keep her heart from beating wildly in her chest, but it was, by all means, a fruitless effort. She felt the spacecraft lower to her mother-planet's surface and heard her heartbeat pounding frantically in her ears.

Soon…soon she'd be standing on solid ground. Earth's ground.

She was back. She couldn't believe it, but she was back.

And maybe…maybe she'd meet Joey…

At that last thought, her heart gave a sudden, painful lunge. Joey…

She watched her friends move around incessantly, gathering around the pilots' seats. They all watched through the huge window of the spaceship bridge in trepidation. They couldn't see very clearly yet, because of the dirt that the ship's landing had caused to flutter around them.

Serenity's heart just couldn't stop pounding. She was so focused on trying to relax, that the sudden jolt of Ryou tightening his grip on her hand shocked her into actual fright. It took her a moment to realize Ryou was seeking support in what was his first visit to Earth ever since his…well, past life.

Serenity made an attempt at a reassuring smile, which came out a bit shaky, but unique nonetheless. She reciprocated the tightening of Ryou's hand, making the albino turn to look at her. Ryou stared at her softly from under his long, silvery eyelashes and grinned at her in exactly the same reassuring-yet-slightly-nervous way.

"Excited?" Ryou asked knowingly, albeit a bit enthusiastically himself.

Serenity smiled wider and nodded vigorously, earning an identical kind smile from the elderly albino.

"Me too…" Ryou said, and turned slowly to look outside the window, where the mist was clearing, slightly.

Serenity's conduct suddenly changed though, as a new jerk of angst shot through her heart.

"Ryou, what if we find Joey and…he hates me? Or what if we don't find him at all? What if we meet my father instead…I don't want to see _him_ again…"

Ryou gently cupped the back of Serenity's head with his wide palm and guided the girl's face to the crook of his neck. He petted her hair in the manner of a grandfather fondling his most favorite grandchild. Unsettling, yet, somehow…so right.

"Don't worry Serena. I'm sure we'll find your brother…as for your father" Ryou's warm brown eyes chilled a bit at the mentioning of the old drunkard "I'll never let him hurt you." He said with an air of finality.

A cheeky grin appeared out of nowhere at Serenity's features "My hero." She teasingly said, poking his belly.

Ryou wiggled out of her now tickling gasp and chuckled brightly. Suddenly, he grabbed the girl by her waist and hauled her to the air, ignoring the fact that he narrowly missed beheading Lena in the process. Serenity squealed as he gathered her in his arms.

"Of course" he confidently said, in the same teasing tone Serenity had used. "I shall protect you with my life, my Lady…"

"Oh, for goodness sake, I'm not a baby!" Serenity lightly bashed the back of Ryou's head, making him grin and set her back to the ground carefully.

The both laughed in their customary childlike manner, each a perfect picture of innocence. It was quite unsettling, how innocent they both looked when laughing.

Serenity suddenly turned more serious "Thank you…for cheering me up."

And it was true. There was still a sense of trepidation within her, but now her heartbeat flew in a much more relaxed manner in her veins.

"Don't mention it, Serena…anything for you" Ryou said through his sensually long lashes. Both he and the girl approached each other slowly, each one respectively licking their lips. For a moment, it looked as if they were going to kiss, when…

"A'right, break it up you two! Time to get off the ship, remember!"

The lovebirds groaned at the sound of Taichi's voice, but complied to his request nonetheless. They held hands and tried to be content with just that, for now.

From the side, Lena and Rika were giving a tearful goodbye-hug to Marik, who smiled placatingly and tried to reassure them everything would be all right. But the girls would have none of it- not when their super idol playboy was going to be stranded on Earth, of all places!

"At least try to keep in touch, Marik!" Lena insisted for the umpteenth time that day.

"Who knows what those Earth barbarians will do to you?" Rika suspiciously said while looking at the still fogged up window.

"I'll be fine, girls, I promise! Honestly!" Marik finally started to lose his patience. He gave an exasperated look at Taichi, who just grinned and shrugged.

"Come _on_, you guys, we don't have all day!" an excited Yugi called from somewhere on the side, revealing how enthusiastic he was about a new adventure, even if it was in a place like Earth. For Yugi, it didn't matter where he would go, as long as it wasn't Yango.

Tea, who clung to the aforementioned spiky-haired boy's shirt, as usual, also gave her trademark smile.

"FRIENDS FOREVER! Right guys?" she beamed at Taichi and Kenji, as well as all the others that wouldn't come down to Earth with her.

Taichi and Kenji exchanged long-suffering looks and quickly nodded at Tea's excited friendship lecture. They hoped it wouldn't last more than ten minutes this time. They didn't even want to think about the horrors they had endured during their short stay in Yango.

"Sure!" Lena and Rika called in unison. "Even if we never meet again, you guys will always be in our hearts!"

'Don't egg her on!' the boys wanted to say, but it was too late, for Tea's eyes were positively sparkling with thoughts of everlasting friendship and love.

"GROUP HUG!" Tea excitedly cried, making a tired-looking Yugi groan, and also making Lena and Rika dive for the aforementioned hug, taking Marik, Taichi, Kenji and the lovebirds along with them.

Rishid was the only one left out of the hug, and was currently staring at the big bushy lump that constituted of nine people being squeezed together in one gigantic mass.

Marik seemed a bit dizzy when he was released from the claws of the friendship preachers, only to become even dizzier when he got face to face with an irate-looking, see-through Bakura spirit.

"What the heck was that all about! I swear, one of these days…" Bakura left the statement hanging as he sent the trademark evil glare towards Tea.

"Chill, Bakura. It's not like you're jealous of our friendship or anything, right?" Marik said in an equally evil tone, being careful to stay quiet, so as no one would see him talking to 'thin air'.

Bakura's bloodshot eyes widened to the size of saucers "Oh no! Don't tell me the friendship drabble has altered your mind, too! Brightside being cheesy is one thing- he's always cheesy! But not you too, Marik!"

Marik smirked lop-sidedly and discreetly motioned for Bakura to follow him as he walked away.

"Don't worry Bakura. I'll never become friends with anyone but you. Happy now?" Marik cheekily asked, sending an unseen, amused glance at Bakura's direction.

"Now that's more like it…wait…_what_?" Bakura confusedly demanded, resisting the urge to bash his forehead with his palm. Ancient dark spirits did not admit to their insecurities.

'Am I…flirting with Bakura?' a thought came completely uncalled for in the tanned boy's mind. 'No…No it can't be…but, I just did, didn't I?'

Marik turned his careful eyes towards Bakura, probing for some sign of discomfort or unusual irritation.

Nope. Everything all right. Bakura was as expressionless and regal as ever. He hadn't noticed.

Even if he had, he didn't seem to mind.

Marik tried his best to keep the last thoughts from returning in his mind, and focused on the task at hand: getting off the ship and finding a place to hide. It was the thousandth time that Marik reminded himself that he had no time for silly personal emotions and that he ought to ensure the means of his survival first and think about personal issues later.

…wait? 'Personal issues?' When the heck had Bakura become a 'personal issue'?

Oh…right. Ever since that night in the cave.

In this case, what did 'personal issue' refer to? A relationship between friends, right? A feeling of brotherhood? Maybe even…No! Marik now shoved the thought frantically in the back of his mind. He could not afford to get distracted!

He chanced an unbidden glance at the back of Bakura's floating head.

He could not afford to get distracted…

"Hey, Marik! Where are you going? The ramp is that way!" Ryou called from somewhere behind, and Marik realized he had been heading for the opposite direction. He tried his best not to look flustered, as his friends gave him a perplexed stare and Bakura barked out a derisive snort.

Marik closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. This was getting ridiculously out of hand.

"Well, this is it." The tanned boy started saying once the small group reached the top of the ramp that would lead them to Earth once and for all "We'd better get down before people start getting suspicious. Spaceships don't land on plain soil every day on Earth. Nor in any other planet, for that matter."

"Don't worry…" Serena muttered under her breath 'No one will notice…"

"Master…" Rishid walked around, in order to come face to face with Marik, who seemed shaken at the sight of his brother. "Take care of yourself" Rishid said suddenly, as he bowed down to his knees in front of the young man.

The others watched with identical understanding smiles- except for Bakura who seemed to convey his compassion through his eyes- as Marik stretched a palm and laid it over Rishid's bald skull.

"I will, brother. We shall meet again." He said, and as fast as it came, the moment was gone. Rishid curtly stood and walked back to stand beside Taichi and Lena. Marik's eerie eyes turned towards the young spaceship pilots and narrowed.

"Don't do anything unless you consult Rishido. Try to hide until you hear form either us or Kaiba. If you hear from Kaiba first, we are probably dead."

At this, everyone except the invisible Bakura gulped dryly. Bakura, to his credit, seemed to take the news as a factual reality, even though, if he thought carefully, he'd remember he himself could not die.

His existence seemed so linked to Marik's these days…If Marik died, he would die too, he thought.

Taichi nodded in comprehension, earning a persistent stare from Marik, as though the tanned boy was attempting to find out through his eyes whether Taichi was up to this task or not.

"Let's go!" Marik suddenly shouted, and with a last glance towards Rishid, turned to walk down the ramp. Bakura lost no time in almost violently floating after him, only barely noticing the surprised and suspicious stare his Brightside sent him. Well, Bakura just wanted to see Earth, that's all. Nothing to do with Marik. Nothing at all.

Marik pulled a black ragged hood over his head, covering his flamboyantly glittering hair. Earth was a place where nothing went unnoticed. Ryou would have to do the same.

Ryou pat Kenji's shoulder in understanding and, after looping his arm around Serenity's waist, took his queue to go down the ramp. Yugi and Tea followed, each one obsessing over their own worries.

"I was so glad to learn all those stuff about spaceships form you! I hope we meet again!" Yugi said hopefully, his eyes sparkling with admiration towards the two pilots.

"I hope so too, kid!" Taichi said, affectionately ruffling Yugi's hair. "You know me! All I need is a carton of beer, and I'll be fine, so don't worry!"

Tea laughed at them with her sparkling sapphire eyes "Don't forget us, okay? We'll never forget what we've been through together!"

The others nodded in agreement and Lena enthusiastically said "We'll be friends always, Tea!"

"Uh-huh!"

And with a final hug between the girls of the company, Yugi and Tea had also descended the final steps that would lead them to the land of deliverance, once and for all.

Kenji pressed the button for the ramp to close behind their friends and thoughtfully turned to the others.

"Well? Any ideas about where we're going to go, before Kaiba discovers our little scheme?"

Rishid rubbed his chin pensively as he followed the others to the cockpit. "Well, I know this secluded planet, somewhere in the Holster galaxy…"

* * *

Serenity, Tea, Yugi and Ryou waved for one last time at the spaceship that was slowly becoming a small speck of black above them. In the back of the group, Marik stood and watched the ship's retreat quietly, accompanied by a scowling, cross-armed Bakura.

They were located in the middle of a relatively quiet plain, where the horizon was red and the ground gave the impression of sterile desert mud. Not very far ahead, they could all discern lights of what they presumed was a human camp. The temperature was freezing, and Serenity, Tea and Yugi shivered violently. They all wrapped the black rags they wore tighter around their bodies, and struggled to cope with the biting cold.

"You seem unusually silent." Bakura idly commented, strategically careful not to take his eyes off the long-gone ship "Not that I'm complaining, but what's eating you?" Bakura finally asked, trying his best not to sound the least bit concerned or curious.

Marik finally let his eyes drop to the ground. He back-stepped a little, in order to avoid being heard by the others, and answered grimly "It's just that up until know, I had everything planned…now, where do we go from here?"

Bakura grinned lightly, turning to look back at the skies "Ah…the eternal question, isn't it?"

Marik huffed and scowled irritably "Quit the philosophies, Bakura…Cut the crap! I have a problem here!"

Bakura indignantly glared at Marik "And what do I look like, a guru?"

Marik just shook his head in resignation and waved his hand "Forget it. What was I even thinking asking you for advice?" he started to walk back towards the group.

"Wait, Mariku!" Bakura called, as he quickly took his floating place beside Marik "If you really need help, why not start by asking the others, hmm? Or is it just you who has to bare the responsibility of fearless, heroic leader?"

Marik sighed and stopped walking, settling on watching the others talk from afar. To the average passerby, it looked like he was staring at his friends alone, when in truth he was actually discussing with the spirit "It's not that simple, Bakura…Things will blow out of all proportion if everyone knows everything. It's better to have people under control."

"Does that include my Brightside?" Bakura questioned, slightly angered.

"Ryou is very wise and logical" Marik started, unconsciously trying to placate the dark ghost beside him "but he doesn't know about this age, and would thus prove incapable of helping in any way other than what he has already done. As for the others…I don't think Tea, Yugi or the Game king can prove more helpful than I. It seems like I'm stuck with the responsibility, whether I like it or not."

Bakura didn't speak for a while, just stayed silent and contemplating. Marik turned away from him to examine the bloodstained horizon, which came in such curious contrast with the freezing cold. Marik involuntarily shivered when he felt something remarkably icy sting his back, and hurried to wrap the black hooded cloak tighter around him. This cold really was starting to get to him. Now he felt disgustedly frozen all over.

From behind him, Bakura pulled his invisible hand away from the comforting gesture he had tried to make. He watched as the black-figured boy shivered at his tentative touch and wrapped the cloak around him for warmth. Bakura stared back down at his deathly pale, see-through palm and felt a sudden lump in his throat- a sting at his heart.

No matter how hard he tried, he _still_ couldn't feel. Who was he kidding? He'd never have the chance to live again on his own, outside of Ryou's body. He watched Marik's back, as his companion continued to tremble, and now, more than ever, Bakura felt the lump in his throat threaten to choke him if not released in a silent sob.

"It's awfully cold out here, isn't it?" Marik said a bit shakily.

The reality of Dark Bakura's existence had become even more painful to him ever since he had met Marik. Now that it came down to this, he could perform not even a simple human gesture- the comfort of warmth. Now that Marik stood alone in the cold, trying to heat up his frozen extremities, Bakura had to stand there lifelessly, not feeling cold or hurt. He had to just stand there and watch as Marik's lips paled from rosy pink to bruised purple, being unable to touch and warm the boy with the simple comfort of his presence.

But his touch would not only be useless to Marik, it would actually freeze him further.

"I…can't feel it…remember?"

Why did everything have to be forbidden? Why did even the simplest pleasure of human contact have to be snatched away from him? What did he do in his real life to deserve this? No matter what kind of thug or murderer he may have been, there was absolutely no justice in what had been done to him!

"Oh…sorry…" came the considerably disappointed reply.

Now….now he couldn't even…touch Marik! He couldn't even really breathe. What would Marik do with a see-through ghost whose see-through body chilled even the warmest of hearts? What would Marik do? He would through him away and dump him, just like all the others had done.

And now, more than ever, Bakura felt the suffocating need to prove this was wrong. He knew that Marik was a human who needed human warmth and touch, but he also knew he couldn't be the one to provide it. The overwhelming urge to make Marik his was killing him. He had to prove it to himself and Marik! He had to show that, if only for a moment…he…he could be alive.

"Marik! Let's just get out of here! I don't think I can bare the cold much longer!" a shaking Serenity shouted hoarsely from afar. Marik nodded solemnly and gestured quickly for Bakura to follow him, as he ran towards the others.

Bakura closed his eyes and floated forwards blindly, knowing that even though he couldn't see were he was going, he would never fall down and hurt himself. He would never bleed warm blood.

No. He would never be warm, inside or out.

With that thought, the lump in his thought was soothed by his acceptance, and his unusually anxious heart stilled once again within its infinite, lethargic ice.

Hoping was useless. It was for rookies. And so was dreaming. He was dead and it was a fact. Marik…would never be his. It was too much to ask from a handsome young man, who had all his life laid out in front of him. The dead, ugly, snobbish spirit didn't fit anywhere in this story. If anything, Bakura was the villain, for daring to think he could keep Marik to himself.

"We have to run fast towards the lights. We can't afford it getting dark- we have to leave the cold before nightfall." Marik instructed "We'll jog to keep warm. Try not to tire yourselves out too severely."

With that, he started lightly running towards the lights, taking the lead. Bakura floated effortlessly by his side, going slower than usual, just to let Marik keep up with him. The others took off after them, and they were all soon approaching the lights.

"It's a bivouac!" Marik panted, making Bakura nod.

"What does this mean, Serenity?" Ryou asked from the side.

"This is the Earth's surface, that's why it' s so cold!" Serenity panted hoarsely, trying to sprint and talk at the same time "There are such encampments all over the planet's surface. They have electric hovercrafts that take people from the Catacombs to the surface of the Earth, for when they wish to leave the planet!"

"I can't believe this! The actual cities are underground?" Ryou cried, as he observed the barren, battlefield-like ground of the planet's surface "This is what Earth looks like from outside!" the heartbreak in his tone rang clear in the friends' ears. Yugi and Tea had nothing to add. The disappointment in their eyes said it all.

"Wait till you see the Catacombs…" Serenity muttered darkly, noticing that the lights of the bivouac were now less than 100 meters away.

Finally, they reached the camp, only to see it was a precarious-looking building made of the black metal they use for making starships. It looked ready to collapse. Yet, it wasn't the building that stole the group's attention, it was what was behind it.

The dusty ground of the desert-like landscape broke roughly and abruptly, to reveal a sharp cliff. A cliff that fell deep into the chasms of Earth, going deeper and deeper in the planet's skin. One could not see the ground looking down from the top of the cliff, only lights and hovercrafts of what clearly was a city from above. A city that stretched further and further down, outrageously near the planet's core. Whatever size this city had must have been vertical, for it was certainly not diagonal.

The cliffs sides were not rocky at all. In fact, they were buildings that had their roots deep into the city and were made from that same, ebony metal that everything in this place seemed to be constructed of.

"What…" Ryou nervously said, as his beautiful eyes closed down on the city "What is this?"

Serenity tried to catch her breath from the previous running before she answered. "This is one of the many Catacombs. From what the Surface-post- which is this building here- says, it is Catacomb number 1056." Serenity posted at a label on the building which they had not noticed previously. It really did have '1056' written on it. "These catacomb cities are linked to each other through a 'wormhole' sort of system. An underground, train-hover thing that links them together." Serenity finished.

"Isn't it a little dangerous to have a cliff in the middle of the ground, like that? People can die out here!' Yugi said, as the flabbergasted company kept looking at the city.

Serenity gave the boy a dark look that did not become her "But nobody ever comes out to the surface, Yugi. Only convicts and the poor souls that wish to leave this place…"

Yugi and Tea promptly gulped, Ryou looked ready to be sick from the sight of Earth in its obliterated state. As for Marik and Bakura, they first looked at the deep chasm and then at each other, reflecting one-another's perplexed anxiety.

"Come on! We have to get in the Surface-Post!" Serenity urged, and carefully backed away from the cliff. She hurried to the entrance of the building, egging the others to follow her. Marik was the last to walk in the dark arch of the building's entrance, sending a wary glance to the chaos of the underground city before he did.

"What is this place? You've got to be kidding me!" Tea shouted, seeing that apart from the light that was set outside the building, it was completely dark inside "Yugi is that you?" she asked tentatively as she groped around for her best friend.

"Uh…no, actually…" Ryou's embarrassed voice echoed, making Tea squeal and apologize for having practically jumped the boy without knowing who he was.

"It smells disgusting in here!" Ryou commented, after managing to steady himself and grab Serenity's hand.

"It's sulfur. Remnants from the ground" Serenity wisely said. "OUCH! Watch your step, whoever you are!"

"Sorry…" Tea's embarrassed mewl could be heard.

"Okay, Serenity take my hand. Marik, take Serenity's other hand, and so on!" Ryou shouted "Let's make a chain!"

"You people are pathetic." Bakura firmly stated, blinking his now glowing red eyes as he observed his surroundings. Naturally, he could see flawlessly in the dark, much like the demonic spirit he was. "We are in a big, empty hall. There are no windows, for obvious reasons of shelter from the cold. Just walk straight and you'll meet the staircase. It leads down."

Ryou and Marik were glad that Bakura had made things clear for them, since they couldn't afford asking him openly and risk being caught by Serenity. Ryou walked forwards steadily, following Bakura's directions as he went.

"There's a step right in front of you. Watch it." Bakura instructed, listening to Ryou repeating the phrase for the others to hear. Bakura seized the chance to openly ogle at Marik while the other boy could not see him, until, of course, he remembered that his glowing eyes would betray him, and tried to look away instead.

The group of friends saw a light from the bottom of the long staircase and carefully descended.

"My God, this is prehistoric" Marik complained "I mean, stairs? What's next, a door with a handle?"

Bakura smirked from the side "Go on, pretty boy. Don't worry. The stairs will keep you in good shape."

Marik dramatically rolled his eyes as Ryou chuckled, earning a suspicious glance from Serenity.

"What's so funny, Ryou?" Serenity inquired, while she cautiously descended another step.

"Oh nothing…I just remembered something" Ryou calmly said, and shook his head to focus on the seriousness of the situation.

Finally, when they reached the bottom of the stairs, they could make out their surroundings, due to an ancient-looking electric light that was hooked on the wall. In the bottom of the stairs there was a corridor, and in the end of that corridor was a card-receptor machine that reached an average-height human's waist. It also clearly resembled a huge hovercraft, which was shaped as a round elevator and contained ten seats. The machine blocked the passage with its metallic bars.

It was understandable, really, since past the machine, the corridor had no floor. The humungous hover was probably the aircraft that would lead them to the catacomb, so the rest of the corridor had been removed in order to let the 'ship' move downwards. That Surface-post building was built on the edge of a cliff. Literally.

"I have a pass-card from the last time I was here…Just get on the hover and I'll put the card in." Serenity instructed, and took the seat that was closest to the card receptor.

"Seat belts? How outdated!" Yugi scornfully noted, as he plucked the seatbelt from within the seat and wrapped it around his torso.

"Well, that's Earth. Get used to it." Serenity commented. Once she saw that everyone was in place, and sent a quick glance to Ryou, seeking comfort, she pulled out her card and slid it gracefully in the system.

An electronic voice immediately broke out. "System engaged. Please fasten your seatbelts and keep your limbs inside the vehicle at all times. Disengage in 10, 9, 8…"

As the small group fidgeted in their seats, waiting for the ship to start, Marik watched Bakura slip in the seat next to him. Naturally, Bakura didn't fasten his seat belt, since he didn't' really need it.

"Everything all right?" Marik quietly murmured, immediately cursing himself for using such a soft tone with Bakura. He didn't want to sound girlish!

But Bakura didn't seem angry. He looked indifferent as he shrugged.

"You've been really quiet ever since we reached Earth…what's wrong?" asked Marik a bit more boldly than before, encouraged by Bakura's unusual accepting mood.

"I'm fine…" Bakura muttered, crossed his arms slowly and tried to hide his soft state from Marik . He couldn't believe he'd let his stupid feelings show! "It's just that this place….I don't know. It makes me a bit jumpy, for some reason."

Marik dramatically widened his eyes and made a discreet choking sound for effect "The big bad Bakura actually admitted to being jumpy!" Marik grinned lop-sidedly "My god where is this world coming to?"

"5,4,3…"

"What about you?" Bakura's bloodied eyes suddenly turned predatorily on Marik "You haven't been yourself either…"

"1, engage!"

Suddenly, the pod moved precariously and started going downwards in a marked trail. The travelers relaxed and started talking, which gave Marik more confidence to talk to his demon friend. The blond boy shook off his black hood, releasing his golden hair and letting it slip comfortably over his shoulders and back. The tanned one didn't fail to notice that his actions were closely surveyed by Bakura, and he also was surprised to see Bakura's eyes focus almost immediately on his freshly revealed hair.

Marik fought back the urge to grin. Instead he slipped a bit down in his seat, making himself comfortable and idly watching the flickering lights of the cliff-side-buildings grow taller and taller around him.

"I'm just fine…I guess I'm a little jumpy about this place too…" Marik softly said, closing his eyes and trying to relax a bit, hoping Bakura wouldn't be angry at him for ignoring him or anything. It was just that he was very tired. Being cold, hungry and worked out could do that to a person.

"Do you have any idea about the number of the Catacomb you think you come from?" Bakura asked in an unusually deep, husky voice. Marik was suddenly all too aware of the fact that Bakura's voice had come too close for comfort. He also suddenly realized that the whole right side of his body felt strangely chilly, as though subjected to some kind of frosty current. As though he was standing very near an open refrigerator.

Marik felt his cheeks redden and his body heat up immediately, with the knowledge that Bakura might be touching him. He didn't dare open his eyes, however, for fear that Bakura would scutter away if he did.

"…No…no idea…" Marik said with a sigh, though he didn't really know whether it was a sigh of content or of tiredness. He felt his body chill up even more, goosebumps appearing on his suddenly-scantily-clad skin, and thus knew Bakura was even closer.

"Well, I wouldn't worry if I were you…The girl seems to know her way around here…" Bakura said in a soft tone, a tone Marik had never heard before. In the Surface-post, when Bakura's eyes had started to glow red in the dark, Marik thought he would have a heart attack. It was scary and exciting at the same time, especially since it was directed at him. Overall, Marik didn't want to remember the way Bakura's glowing eyes had looked in the dark, burning lava in the mist of the volcanic crust---preparing to swallow him whole.

"…she…she does, doesn't she?" Marik dryly croaked, remembering the last time Bakura had him backed up like this with an invisible body. Marik's heart was thumping loudly, he could hear it thundering in his ears. He wanted to know what Bakura was doing so badly…

"I think I should give her a chance after all…she may be good to Brightside…who knows?" Bakura testily stated.

Okay. Now something was really wrong. Bakura _never_ approved of Ryou and Serenity's relationship. Never ever. Curious as to what was really going on with Bakura, Marik couldn't suppress the urge any longer. Gingerly, he cracked one eye open and looked around.

Marik bit back a whimper as he saw what exactly Bakura had been doing. For one, the spirit was lying on the seat, very close to Marik. Bakura had his invisible fingers playing lightly with Marik's hair, not managing to really card through it, but touching it in his own way nonetheless. Bakura's other hand had settled on the middle of Marik's chest, drawing dainty patterns on it and the albino's long hair swept over his shoulder and pooled without touch over Marik's belly.

And those eyes….oh, god, those eyes. Marik unconsciously opened both his amethyst jewels to meet with Bakura's blood-colored ones. Briar red smiled at him, from Bakura's customary albino smudgy lips, and the ruby eyes lured him wickedly, almost lecherously, provoking him to do something he didn't know how to do. Bakura drew out his tongue and ran it over his lower lip very slowly, hungrily, with the air of a wolf eyeing its prey. If possible, his eyes darkened even more, as he drew up both his hands and put them on Marik's chest to steady himself in his unknown dimension. Curious, the way Marik couldn't really feel a thing except cold, and yet he felt so much…

The tanned boy realized belatedly that Bakura's black cloak- an identical copy of Ryou's- had sluggishly fallen over one of the spirit's shoulders and now hung loosely around the exposed creamy skin. Creamy, untouchable skin.

Marik was frozen, not only by Bakura's touch, which only served as snow ice, but also from the alien feeling. He didn't know what to do. He was petrified, unmoving, staring at Bakura's eyes and almost drowning in their fiery infernal quality. Nothing mattered anymore. The hovercrafts and smoke and buildings that had heightened around him were nothing compared to the frozen heat of the wine red eyes.

He didn't even realize what he was doing as he raised his hand to hold onto Bakura's naked shoulder- maybe even caress it- only to disappointedly realize he felt nothing but a cold breeze against his fingers. Bakura, however, didn't seem to mind, for once, that there had been someone passing their body through his. On the contrary, with Marik's intended touch, his passion seemed to lit up even more. He raised his feathery, pale hand and cupped Marik's face, sliding his thighs over Marik's torso and lowering himself down slowly.

The tanned boy, frozen both by shock and by Bakura's body, tried to keep his non-existent grip on the spirit's shoulder, gulping nervously at the unfamiliar sensation. Unconsciously, as he realized those eyes were coming closer and closer to him, he fluttered his eyelids in expectation. Blood throbbing in his veins, aching, calling-

"Yami? What the heck are you doing!" was heard the sudden, incredulous shout from the side of the hover.

Marik and Bakura both violently started, turning to look at Ryou, whose jaw had dropped and was looking at them in disbelief.

"Yami?" Ryou asked again, not caring whether or not the others could hear him. So shocked he was.

Marik's eyes flew frantically from one albino to the other, watching disappointedly as Bakura's eyes widened in the manner of a child who had been caught by his mother with one hand in the cookie jar. Bakura practically pounced off Marik, grabbed his cloak and pulled it over his shoulder and –Marik belatedly realized- his exposed creamy thigh and positively glared daggers at his Brightside. Swirling around –his long ragged clothes swishing behind him- Bakura took a step forward, off the hovercraft. Instead of physically falling, he disappeared to thin air, in a cloud of smoke.

Marik tried to conceal the mixture of puzzlement, disappointment and anger in his features. He felt Ryou's eyes linger on him and turned to eye the boy a bit more fiercely than necessary. He unpleasantly noticed that Yugi's eyes were wide and staring at him too, and so were Tea's and Serenity's, though they seemed more confused than anything else. Suddenly, Marik envied Bakura a lot for being able to simply disappear. Would this unbelievably long hover ride finally come to an end, so he could get away from their curious stares?

Although Ryou did not speak any more words, his wide, dilated eyes said it all. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen. See-through Bakura, lying over a dazed Marik, hands slipping carefully around Marik's neck and head bending torturously slow over Marik's lips. Let's not forget, of course, the naked thighs trying to tighten around Marik's waist. Marik hadn't even felt it!

Ryou took another look at Marik's wild, vehement violet eyes. This was not possible. This could NOT be happening. "Ryou, what are you talking about? Are you okay?" Serenity asked, having a good idea about what was going on, although Ryou didn't really know this. However, Ryou's eyes remained stuck on Marik's anxious ones, searching and probing for answers.

"I'm…fine…" Ryou suspiciously said, all the time watching Marik lower his eyes in undeniable shame- and anger- and cover his head with his black cloak again. "Don't worry yourself, Serena" Ryou said, finally turning towards his girlfriend "Don't worry yourself."

Yugi suddenly stood up "That's enough, Ryou. Don't you think it's high time you told her what's going on?"

At once, the situation was altered. Marik's eyes looked expectantly at Ryou, who seemed to be a deer trapped in the headlights.

"What are you talking about Yugi?" Serenity questioned calmly. Tea was simply observing all this time.

"I…I don't…know what you're talking about." Ryou finally said, looking pointedly at Yugi, trying to convey the message that he didn't want his girlfriend to know. . From the side, Marik kept silent, unspeaking under his black hood- no doubt trying to recover from the onslaught of sentiments that had just been disposed on him. His crystal eyes watched his friends from under his lashes, trying to look inconspicuous.

"Oh come ON, Ryou!" Yugi finally said, his eyes more impatient and commanding than they had seen them before. "Just tell her! Tea knows, Marik knows, I know…why shouldn't Serenity know also?"

Ryou widened his eyes and hoarsely looked at the girl beside him. "I…I can't…Serena…I…"

Serenity smiled all of a sudden, and Marik just silently watched, having a feeling he should stay out of the whole situation.

"Yugi." Serena finally said, lacing her voice with a tone of finality "we are almost in the Catacomb. I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I want you to remain certain Ryou and I have no secrets from each other. Even though he doesn't know it, I already know about his dark spirit of the ring…and I completely believe him. So don't worry about me."

Her small speech stopped there, leaving everyone flabbergasted and aghast. Marik was not as surprised as the others. After all, he had been the one to tell Serenity, an indefinite time ago.

Ryou didn't know if he should be relieved, terrified or both. He settled for a fairly confused expression of horror "But…But Serena…how?" he asked, earning a gentle peck on the lips form the girl he loved.

"Back in my house in Mercury, when Marik saw your Darkside for the first time and didn't know what it was, he told me. It's as simple as that. He didn't betray your trust, since he hadn't talked to you about it, anyway. So please don't be angry…all right?" Serenity sweetly finished, leaving a slightly grinning Ryou to stare at her.

The relief in the boy's face was evident enough- his beloved had finally said the words he had always longed to hear from her lips- and without an anxious confession from his part nonetheless!

Ryou hugged the girl warmly, burying her in his safe embrace. Yugi, Tea and Marik smiled as they watched the two.

"I'm…I'm so glad…I'm so sorry I never told you Serena…I swear I wanted to, but…" Ryou fought to explain.

"Shhh….it's all right …I understand." Serenity said the final magic words she knew would convince her beloved. Ryou seemed ready to continue their discussion, only that was the time the hovercraft chose to jerk suddenly and alert them all of the end of their little ride.

'Finally' Marik thought, as he set foot on the red ground for the first time in at least twenty minutes 'solid ground.' He didn't allow his thoughts to linger on Bakura, or he would lose himself yet again. Instead, he hurried to take full account of his surroundings while Yugi helped Tea off the hovercraft. A slightly dizzy Serenity clung to Ryou.

They seemed to be in a small glass cubicle- the landing station of the hover. Through the see-through glass, Marik could clearly distinguish the ominous black buildings towering above him. He was so deep in the Earth that he could not see the sky above- was there any sky anymore? All he could see were the gigantic buildings, towering above him as though trying to suffocate him.

He motioned for the others to follow him out of the glass bubble, and found himself standing it what would qualify for a mayhem. The ground under his feet constituted of red dirt, sulfur and small shavings of a mysterious black metal that seemed to cover the entire city. Around him there were lights everywhere, from stores that were located on the sides of the street to hovercrafts that flew for miles above his head. There seemed to be an incessant cloud of smoke around them, and the temperature had shot up dramatically in comparison to the planet's surface. This city must have been well near the planet's core.

Serenity coughed heavily from behind him, and Marik turned to see Ryou rubbing her back worriedly.

Serenity ironically grinned "I'd forgotten the atmosphere in this place…So wonderful. The dirt is always in the air…See the factories at the sides?" she pointed at the overly tall black buildings "that's where people work to make spaceships…You know that every planet has these catacombs. Above the ground is where we honorable citizens live, under the ground is where the workers live…in these disgusting places." She finished, and Ryou looked just about ready to cry his eyes out.

"This is…Earth?" he just couldn't believe it…it was too impossible to be true. This could not be the land he knew and loved.

Marik looked around dejectedly, seeing people walk in the streets, into stores, in metallic hut-houses. He noticed how the two thirds of the people had mutant spikes piercing out of their greenish forearms. He saw people moving and walking while trying not to use their hands- like apes.

It was disgusting.

"I don't know which is worse, Yango or this…Although I must admit, I am excited to be at a new place…even though this can qualify more as a boiler than a normal place…" Tea commented lightly, fanning herself.

From her side, Serenity seemed to be observing everything with morbid reminiscence. She didn't seem happy to be here again, even at the prospect of finding her brother.

"What is this hellhole?" a foreign voice was suddenly heard from the side, and Marik, Ryou and Yugi turned to see the semi-visible King of Games, staring with wide eyes at the dim, misty place that was once Earth. 'Oh great' Marik sarcastically thought 'his _majesty_ is all I needed right now…' Trying not to contemplate further and just cut to the chase, Marik decided to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"Serenity" Marik addressed the girl suddenly "You lived here before, and you told me there might be a brother waiting for you…why don't we go search for him? We must hide from Kaiba either way, and staying in a hotel doesn't qualify for not laying low. Maybe your brother can help us or something…" Marik hopefully said.

A great lump formed in Serenity's throat. She doubted whether Joey would want anything to do with her after having left him like that, much less help her hide from Kaiba. Ryou took her hand in his and squeezed comfortingly, reassuring her in his own way.

At his elegant gesture, Serenity took courage and nodded, managing a small, eager smile. "I hope we'll find him…" she wished.

Ryou smiled brightly, and the fact that he could beam like that amidst such an insane situation was what truly made him precious at a time like this "We surely will."

Serenity grinned and turned to Marik. The Game King kept watching the interaction in interest, never earning so much as a glance from Serenity, who couldn't see him.

"Marik, as I told you, I didn't use to live in this colony. My house was in the main Catacomb, where the biggest MultiCorp building is. We have to catch the 'subway' to get to the other city, so we better get going. This way!" Serenity finished, and turned to walk down the street, trying at all costs to avoid interaction with the pedestrians.

"Oh, and before I forget…" she said "don't stare. People hate it when you stare." With those words, she strolled faster down the street, leading them towards an especially old-looking department store.

"Don't stare at what?" Tea confusedly asked Yugi, as they walked sullenly behind Serenity and Ryou. Suddenly, the game King who was floating a few feet away, literally dived at unsuspecting Yugi's body. With a flash of his golden pyramid, he had taken over the body and turned to Tea with his narrow magenta eyes.

"Their arms, Tea. Don't stare at their arms." He consulted.

"Ohhhh…." The girl said, as it finally dawned on her. "Now I get it."

From behind, Marik's voice was suddenly heard. He seemed a bit irritated "You guys! Cover up your hands and faces with the cloaks- we don't want to attract attention! We're supposed to have hyper-arms too, remember?"

Regal dark Yugi sent an annoyed glance at him and promptly ignored his advice. Tea, however, rushed to cover up the exposed part of her arms. She left her legs uncovered, seeing as the suffocating heat allowed it. What was it with that girl and short skirts, anyway?

Marik huffed at seeing Dark Yugi's defiance to everyone and everything. It wasn't like Bakura's defiance either- it wasn't angry and blind- it was stubborn and proud. Of course, that served to piss Marik off even more. Being in a foul mood already –for having had his little tete-a-tete with Bakura interrupted- Marik didn't take the Game King's pride well right then.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, ignoring the vein that was throbbing in his temple, signifying his aggravation.

Marik followed from behind, aware of the strange glances their group kept attracting from pedestrians, but also aware of the lack of a familiar cold presence on his side. Now that Bakura was not here to freeze the air around him, Marik felt strangely…alone.

He tried to fight down the upcoming emotions, but, as usual, it was no use. Not when just minutes before, Bakura had come more close to actually…actually…approaching him, than he ever had before! How ironic that Marik had physically felt nothing of it. Bakura, trying with all his might to break his shields and show his emotions, and Marik, feeling nothing of it.

Marik sighed dejectedly as Serenity led them through the doors of an old department store. They quietly descended stairs, walked through big rooms, saw people standing around, descended some more stairs, until finally, the reached what seemed to be a train platform. Serenity nodded, as if trying to say they had reached their destination.

"Now we wait. We want to go to Catacomb number 100…" she pointed at a nearby timetable that had the various 'trains' for each colony and the hours they came by. "…So we'll have to wait about half an hour. Just chill, you guys!" she cheerfully said, earning curious glances from the dull passerby.

"Easy for you to say! How can we chill when the air is boiling?" Tea protested animatedly, making Ryou smile good-naturedly at her childishness and Dark Yugi fold his arms over his chest. As for Marik, he simply sauntered around, refusing to acknowledge he was sulking over the absence of Bakura. He kept this faraway look in his eyes as he stared at the distance, an action which did not go unnoticed by Ryou, who briefly checked in his mind to see if Bakura was in his ring.

Nope. Just as he suspected, Bakura was, for the second time, in hiding.

Now that Ryou had seen_ that _with his own eyes, he reckoned there was no room for further doubt. It was certain. Those two had something going on. Marik's wide eyes had it written loud and clear, and so did Bakura's audaciously sultry grin. Ryou had not been imagining things.

Only now he was even _more _worried about what Bakura did with his body when he took over. Until now, Ryou only worried that Bakura slaughtered innocent white pigeons when taking over his body. But now, that he had actually seen Bakura and Marik…What if he and Marik…oh, god, what would Serena say? Oh, but wait…Serena knew about Bakura…Ryou reveled at the new thought. He loved the feeling of it in his heart.

Thirty minutes were quick to pass, and the group of friends quickly got in the worm-like, huge hover vehicle. They tried to stay as far from natives as possible, but that still didn't prevent Marik from having to sit across an elderly woman. She didn't have hyper-arms, though she looked just as sullen and sad as the people around here who did. Marik sighed deeply and turned to look a bit wistfully at the empty seat next to him. Ryou was sitting with Serenity…Yugi with Tea…seems like everyone was with their chosen company except for him…The empty seat is where Bakura would normally sit…

Tired and sulking, Marik raised his grim eyes to look at the blackness out the window. He saw his own eyes reflected through it. 'To hell with discretion' he thought, and tossed the cloak away from his head, freeing his golden mane once again 'I can't stand this itchy thing on my head any longer. How can women wear this?' he pondered.

Through the window, he saw the reflection of the old lady staring at him with her jaw hanging open. Well, seems he hadn't lost all his charm just yet, even though he had reduced his jewelry to earrings only.

He turned away from the window slowly, only to risk receiving a heart attack, when he saw the familiar pale outline of a see-through spirit sitting next to the old lady. Bakura was smiling at him…the bastard! First he disappears for hours on end, causing mayhem and incessant angst in Marik's heart, only to appear after a while as though nothing had happened.

Marik truly wanted to scream at him, but held his tongue, thinking of the old lady. Bakura, however, being invisible and thus, free to cause riot, had no problem with indulging himself in his favorite sport- that is: talking while others can't respond.

"So, Mariku…" Bakura teasingly started "From the drool hanging form her lip. I'd say she's quite fond of you." The spirit said, motioning towards the old woman and making her shiver lightly.

Marik raised an eyebrow, fighting the urge to check out if there really was drool on the woman's lip….damn! Bakura was having an effect on him after all. He wondered briefly why Bakura had no reflection in the mirror, but then it made sense: nothing unusual, just another quality of a vampire that Bakura possessed, beside bloodsucking and hating the sunlight.

Marik smirked at his own thoughts.

"Urgh! Just look at that ! Is that lettuce on her tooth!" Bakura made a disgusted face, pointing rudely at the old lady's mouth. "Man, that's disgusting!" he said, thoroughly amused by Marik's effort to try and not look at what Bakura was referring to. It was, after all, very hard for people not to stare at what others were pointing at.

"Marik! We'll be there in a couple of minutes!" Serenity shouted from a few seats behind. Naturally, since Serenity spoke to Marik, Ryou also turned his glance towards the blonde, only to spot his Darkside grinning lecherously at the aforementioned tanned youth.

/ What do you think you're doing, Darkside? Disappearing the first moment and reappearing he next/ Ryou exasperatedly said in his mind, scowling at Bakura on the outside. / What's your business with Marik/ he suspiciously continued.

Marik didn't miss the kind Ryou frowning at Bakura, and felt something heavy weigh his heart down. He turned to Bakura, only to see the playful grin having left the spirit's lips. Now a thin, angry line had replaced the teasing smile. Bakura's narrowed eyes dripped blood at Ryou.

Don't try to control me, Ryou… Bakura said, feeling the customary anger swell inside him. Serenity and Marik confusedly watched the interaction.

Ryou scowled deeper than Marik ever thought he could / What exactly is going on between you two? And why don't you ever enter your ring anymore/ Ryou inquired telepathically.

Bakura stared harder at his frail mirror image –If I enter the ring, you can read my thoughts…I don't want you to read my thoughts—he answered honestly.

/ Why not? What are you hiding/

Bakura stood up suddenly, making the old lady beside him tremble awkwardly as he passed through her. He glared at Ryou darkly and verbally hissed "None of your business!"

Marik was confused, but couldn't talk to Bakura still. He just looked at Ryou and his Darkside telepathically quarrelling, and felt useless being unable to do a thing about it.

Ryou's expression suddenly changed from angered to concerned. He had never felt his Darkside's anger be aimed directly at him. Why? Why was he so suddenly a target of Bakura's wrath? Ever since Bakura had met Marik, he didn't want anything to do with Ryou, it seemed.

/ Bakura, are you all right? Why on earth won't you tell me what's wrong with you/ Ryou now sent his honest worry through their link.

Bakura's anger soothed at realizing he wasn't threatened. Ryou was just worried about him. He knew how to deal with that.

Don't worry, I'm fine… he finished.

Ryou looked disbelieving / You still haven't told me why you don't want me to know your thoughts. We've always known each others thoughts, Yami…We're the same person! Why don't you trust me anymore/

Bakura sighed exasperatedly and waved his hands around as though to accentuate his point. Marik watched everything with hawk-like eyes.

Would _you_ feel that we were the same person, if _I_ knew your thoughts about the girl, and still didn't share your feelings?

Ryou scowled lightly / So this is about Serenity, then? Look, Darkside, you don't HAVE to like her! Just accept her! It's not like you have to love the same person I do! That has nothing to do with… / he started saying, but then his eyes fell on the blonde boy, and he froze, suddenly remembering the way Bakura's eyes always glazed over when talking to Marik. Bakura's hands climbing up the plain of Marik's chest, caressing without touch, at Marik's gooseflesh skin.

Ryou didn't want Bakura to hear his thoughts about Serena. Bakura didn't want Ryou to hear his thoughts about…

Oh. Ryou suddenly realized.

/ Oh /

Yes, Oh, indeed. Bakura rolled his eyes and said, not knowing about the revelation Ryou just had and merely supposing his Brightside had left him alone at long last. Not understanding Ryou had found out his biggest secret, even without having to read his thoughts.

The worm-like hover train skidded to a stop, finally, jarring Ryou and Tea, who weren't expecting such a violent halt.

"Well, that's our queue!" Serenity said, as she grabbed Ryou's arms and dragged him outside the doors, followed closely by the Game King and Tea. From behind, a confused Marik walked beside a scowling Bakura, still curious about the fight between Ryou and Bakura from before.

"Okay" Marik finally said as he walked considerably far behind the others. He tried not to look suspicious to pedestrians, who somehow seemed to be even more grim in this city than the other. "What the heck was that all about?"

"What?" Bakura decided to play dumb, as he carelessly observed the tall buildings and the dirty roads, littered with all kinds of disgusting garbage.

"Don't act like you don't know, Bakura! The fight with Ryou! What was it about!" Marik urged, knowing full well that he was being too nosy for his own good, and was sure to pay dearly in the near-future.

Bakura waved his hand dismissively, as he floated freely out to the city lights "Oh, that! It was nothing! Don't worry yourself…" he said with an air of finality, signifying this dialogue was over. Bakura cursed himself for ever saying that last phrase. That had sounded too cheesy for his own good, proving that he was indeed losing it.

Marik looked ready to talk some more, only he was pulled out of his thoughts by the state of his surroundings. Even worse than the other city, Catacomb 100, which was quite older, looked, to put it bluntly, disgusting.

Trash was laying everywhere: on the ground in stacks, outside stores and houses, everywhere! People were all wearing blue, torn trousers and white tank tops, which were greasy with sweat and dirt. People's arms seemed even worse than before- they were downright mutated: Green and spiky, like a dinosaur's claws.

Dragons. Red eyed, black dragons.

Serenity shook her head. It would be useless to start reminiscing now, even though the sad deja vus that this place brought were a bit too many. Nothing had changed. The same disgusting, hot atmosphere. The same dull people. The same slimy red mud under the soles of her feet.

She had always hated it with a passion, and had once sworn she would get Joey out of there.

How ironic that now she sought refuge here, of all places. IN the land she despised the most.

"This is vulgar. It is truly, utterly disgusting." Ryou said, as though making it official that this was certainly not the Erath he remembered and had hoped to see. These were not his prestigious family's gardens in Japan. There were no little romantic lakes, no wonderful flower beds, no glittering cherry blossom trees. This was certainly not the soft soil he remembered- this was miles deep in the Earth's flesh, hard and rocky, and unbreakably real. His Earth did not exist any more.

Perhaps with its possible existence had clung the hope that he would maybe one day return to his familiar, old way of life. But no such luck. He could turn young again, but time could not turn back.

His life was with Serenity now. It was based on that simple girl. His world- the world of his father, and mother and cousins no longer existed. And Bakura's world…well, whatever it was, it had ceased to exist as well.

"Oh my God! Is that blood?" Tea cried and cowered back behind Dark Yugi, pointing at a wet red blotch on the ground.

The Game King looked shaken as he saw it, but pat Tea's shoulder nonetheless. "This place reeks of smoke and alcohol. How can an entire city smell like a bar?" he commented dryly, and turned to look around at the metallic huts that served as housing for the locals.

"This is the biggest, central Catacomb. It has the Main MultiCorp building. You know what MultiCorp is, right? It's the oldest and most prestigious company that makes spacecrafts. KaibaCorp itself is just an extension of MultiCorp. In this huge building, the company's council meets once in every three months, I think." Serenity said while walking forward a bit. At the mentioning of the MultiCorp building, Serenity briskly pointed at it.

She was right. It was huge. It seemed to be even taller and more gigantic than the ones they had seen before, with hovercrafts fleeing in and out of it incessantly.

"What are the hovers for?" The Game King curiously asked.

"The workers use them to carry metal from one factory building to the other. They transfer all kinds of steels and metals…" Serenity informed.

Dark Yugi and Dark Bakura finally had a chance to take a good look at the tall building. They both saw the huge sign flashing 'MULTICORP INDUSTRIES' at the middle section of the building. Suddenly, as they watched the colorful sign and the commercials that went with it, the world seemed to become fuzzy, and Dark Yugi visibly collapsed. As for Bakura, he held on a bit longer, stretching a weightless hand on Marik's shoulder for support, before he too lost the battle, and passed out, falling to the ground right through the tanned boy.

_Cold sweat trickled down his brow and he gritted his teeth ominously. Clutching the revolver at his chest with both hands, he struggled with keeping his breathing even. He put a hand over his mouth, to keep his panting from being heard._

_Anxiously, he adhered his nape to the wall, muttering a mantra he had recently learned in order to calm himself. When he heard the footsteps fade out a bit, he chanced a peek around the corner. Nothing. Just an empty corridor._

_Allowing himself a small grin, he felt slightly more optimistic. This was his house, not theirs. They didn't know it half as well as he did. He had to escape now…he had to leave the manor before they could get to him._

_He looked in front of him. At the floor. His mother's wide, glassy eyes stared back at him- her mouth contorted to a vulgar scream. That was the way she'd been, when they killed her._

"_To Kuru Eruna, brat…they'll teach you some real manners there…"_

"_Go on then, kill me, you worthless piece of shit! No matter how hard you try, you still can't reach my father, can you?"_

"_Atemu? What the hell are you doing here? I knew you had something to do with this, you bastard!"_

"_Listen to me, Nehti, listen well. There is only one person you can trust if ever I should get hurt, do you understand? Only your cousin. Only…"_

"_Get it off me! GET IT OFF! AHHHHHH!"_

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk…what's the matter Nehti? Afraid of your own self?"_

"_After all, there are fates so much worse than death, am I right?"_

"_I don't know what you're playing at, you sick fuck, but I can promise you this: once I find out, not even they crows will lay their hands on you!"_

"_See, Ryou? Do you like it? They call it a dreamcatcher, because it blocks out bad dreams…look how soft the feathers are…"_

"_Freeze him. We'll see what we can do with him later on. Just freeze him for now. Pity, though…he could have been a useful asset to us…If he wasn't his father's son, that is."_

"YUGI! YUGI!"

"Calm down, Tea…he's waking up, see?"

"Sorry, I just…it's happened twice in the last twelve hours. What on Earth is wrong with him?"

The Game King opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see the familiar cobalt eyes of Tea. He wanted to stand up and tell her not to worry about him, only he wasn't sure if he should or shouldn't worry about himself anymore. This time, the dreams had been more intense than any other time. At some point, they even made sense. Only he had forgotten everything when he woke up…

Could it be that these were visions of his past?

"Bakura! Bakura!" Marik's familiar deep voice echoed, significantly more scratchy and worried than any other time, Yugi turned to see the invisible Bakura, who was lying right next to him on the dirty Catacomb ground. Marik was on his knees in front of him, obviously flustered that he could not touch him by the shoulders. As for Ryou, he had just settled on anxiously looming over Marik and his Darkside, watching Bakura with an anxious expression.

"What the…what just happened?" Bakura's satanic voice didn't possess half his normal wit when he was as worn out and weak as that.

"We were hoping you could tell us that. Yugi and you just passed out again." It was Ryou who gave the explanation- Marik obviously was too focused on rejoicing at the recovery of Bakura, that he didn't have time to focus. Serenity and Tea, who could not see Bakura, tended to Yugi and helped him get back up.

"…It happened when I saw that bloody sign." Bakura pointed towards the huge 'MULTICORP ' billboard. "I can't fathom why."

Marik narrowed his eyes and approached Bakura cryptically "Do you remember anything this time? Any names?"

Bakura looked away at his own inability and shook his head with a scowl. Apparently, it was a closest thing to an apology one could get from Bakura.

"Well, anyway" Serenity started, getting uncomfortable with the notion of people talking to other invisible people who she couldn't see. "Let's just hurry and get to my house, okay?" she looked pointedly at some pedestrians who were openly staring at their little group "It's not very far from here, and I don't know about you, but I must find a place to rest…"

The main reason why she was so hell-bent on visiting her old house was left unsaid, of course. Her heart gave an unbidden jolt at the thought of meeting Joey. Even if he hated her now, at least she'd get to see him…

"Fine! Lead the way, Serenity." Yugi instructed regally and swept up to his feet. He gathered a giggling Tea's hand in his own and strutted confidently after Serena. Ryou, Marik and a floating Bakura followed closely while sharing an awkward silence.

The question was burning in Marik's lips. Why had Bakura and Ryou fought before? The unusual, somewhat hostile silence between the three of them hinted that whatever was bothering the two albinos had yet not been totally resolved. Or, even if it was resolved, they weren't comfortable with it.

"So…" Ryou started suddenly, nearly making Marik jump out of his skin with the sudden call. Bakura seemed slightly more composed "So, after we find Serenity's brother, what do we do, Marik?"

Marik sighed quietly and shared a hidden glance with Bakura. Should they tell Ryou about Marik's supposed relation to Earth?

"I suggest you wait until we find the girl's brother and _then_ ask questions, Brightside." Bakura stated, saving the tanned boy from the weight of revealing his problems.

At Bakura's inadvertent irritated tone, Ryou was taken aback. Here he was, trying to be friendly and trying to lighten the mood, only to be warded off without a second thought, by his own Darkside no less.

"I don't remember talking to you, Bakura!" Ryou nastily said, with a tone very unlike his usual placated one. At the offense, Bakura's eyes positively blazed. Marik stared at both of them in alert, not knowing if it was a good idea to speak up at this point. Besides, even if he did speak up, who would he defend? Most probably, his heart would betray him, and he would try to support Bakura, thus ending in a quarrel with Ryou.

"Excuse me?" Bakura whispered in a dangerous sibilant hiss. Ryou scowled at him and huffed.

"Well, fine" Ryou said in an obviously annoyed voice "If you two ever decide to share your _secrets_ with the rest of us puny insignificant mortals, don't hesitate!" Ryou nastily said, his eyes lighting up in a curious flame of ire that Marik had never seen before in his character.

The albino quickened his pace and reached Serenity and the others, who seemed to be talking about the history of the Catacombs by now. From behind, Marik sighed and Bakura glared at the back of his Brightside's head.

"Just forget him" Bakura advised gruffly, more to himself that to anyone else, as he refused to acknowledge the trickle of guilt that seemed to roll around his stomach "He doesn't understand."

Marik didn't say anything as he followed his friends through the dark alcoves, between slimy ghetto buildings and into dark neighborhoods. Not even the lights of the hovercrafts could shed light to the disgusting alleys any more.

"But he's right" Marik suddenly said, shaking Bakura from his thoughts. The spirit focused on the back of Marik's blonde head, watching the enchanting hair sway as Marik sauntered down the street. "What are we going to do? I told you I might have some family on Earth, but I don't know a thing about where they might be…For all I know, there are hundreds of these Catacomb cities…" Marik suddenly aimed his crystal eyes in Bakura's ruby ones "How do I know where to look?" he asked with a tint of desperation.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you." A cross-armed Bakura confidently said, turning around and avoiding Marik's sultry gaze, which made him want to take over Ryou's body just by the sight of it. "We'll ask around. It's not that hard to find what you want in a place as conservative as this…It's the same with Yango. If you know how to survive there, you'll be fine here. You'll find what you want, Mariku…I'm sure."

Bakura was almost disgusted at the involuntary softness of his voice. He really wanted to puke by his own mushiness.

Marik narrowed his eyes skeptically and scowled at the floor. As usual, he didn't seem to notice Bakura's internal peril "How can you be so sure?" he asked, stealing a look at Bakura's ethereal flowing figure.

"Because you know how to live in such a place, and because I know-" the deep voice started saying, almost causing Marik a heart-attack from trepidation. But it wasn't meant to be, since Serenity's voice broke through Bakura's whispers.

"We're here! Marik!" she called, causing Marik to realize that he was the only one in the group who had been left so far behind.

"Coming!" Cursing under his breath, Marik ran less than briskly towards the pathetic-looking, metallic, two-story house that Serenity was standing in front of. Bakura, who glided right next to Marik, kept reminding him of interesting ways to eviscerate Kaiba, and maybe Yugi, for all they put them through. Marik tried to keep the grin off his face when he came to a stop beside Tea and Yugi. Ryou avoided all eye contact with either Marik or Bakura, obviously not wanting to deal with another debate, which would undoubtedly unfurl from a conversation with Bakura where Marik was involved.

Serenity turned to face the house with obvious regret and nervousness. She swallowed dryly and looked at the old-fashioned metallic door. She felt her insides melt to putty and blindly reached for the support of Ryou's hand, which came to her aid immediately, of course.

"This is it." She merely whispered, as she felt a burning whisp of air blow around them, pushing her hood back and revealing her long, auburn hair. The steamy current brought with it shavings of metal and dirt from the ground, so everyone covered their eyes. How could there still be air in this place? Oh wait…it wasn't air- it was the exhalation of all those robotic contraptions around them.

"My house." Serenity said, as she took a stop forward and separated herself from the rest of the group. In her chest, her heart was beating wildly. Her palms were sweaty as she clenched and unclenched them.

"Relax, Serena" Ryou said with his oceanic, cool voice from beside her "Everything's going to be all right."

But for once, his voice didn't have the desired effect. Serenity could not relax as she felt the blood drain from her limbs and face. Her cold sweat of nervousness enveloped her as she shakily raised a hand and just held it over the door buzzer for a while.

When the others saw she wasn't about to do anything anytime soon, they started getting impatient. Especially Bakura from beside a tired Marik, said "If she doesn't open that door anytime soon, I might as well do it _for_ her."

At this, Ryou's glare was intensified tenfold from the last time they'd quarreled, and Bakura thought that if his Brightside tried a lot, he could start looking a bit like him. Only a bit though.

Finally, Serenity seemed to come to terms with something in her mind, and the spark of determination in her eyes grew bright. With Ryou's gentle support, she finally pressed the buzzer. When she realized she'd done it, however, she jumped back, as though startled with her own boldness, and launched herself in Ryou's welcome embrace. Her heart was beating fast- she had difficulty breathing. She couldn't believe she'd actually done it!

"Great…now that she finally rings the bell, nobody answers" Bakura murmured under his breath, causing Marik to look pensively at him.

"Where is everybody?" Tea finally said, when more than a minute had passed with no answer from the door.

"Maybe you should ring again, Serenity?" Dark Yugi suggested, trying to convince Serenity not to let go of her hopes.

Serenity shook her head in a mixture of disappointment and relief "No…No, nobody's here…let's just go…" she stuttered, and started walking away. The others, seeing her resignation, started to follow, only to be interrupted by a sudden foreign voice that came from the intercom of the small house.

"_What do you want?_" a female voice demanded through the electronic speaker, and Serenity froze at her steps. Slowly, she turned around and stared at the speaker with wide, unblinking eyes.

"I…I…"Serenity started, not knowing how to react. She certainly wasn't expecting a woman, if anyone, to answer. Her mother and she had been the only females in the house and they were both gone. Now it could be either her father or her brother that could answer the intercom, yet…it was a woman.

"It can't be the wrong house!" Serenity muttered to herself, thinking of any possible reason this could be happening.

"_Huh? Speak louder will ya? I can't hear you!"_ the impertinent voice echoed again, and Serenity suddenly had the feeling she'd heard that tone somewhere before…

"Does…does Joey Wheeler live here?" Serenity asked, with a little more confidence than she had before. The rest of the group watched the aural exchange with interest, if not anxiousness.

There was a brief pause in the intercom, indicating that the woman from inside the house was temporarily startled. Then there came her voice again, this time rougher than any other time.

"_I don't know what the hell you're taking about, lady!. Now scram!"_ she said, and seemed to close the link. Serenity's eyes widened in hurt, just as Marik's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"The wench is hiding something." Bakura stated matter-of-factly, though only half of the group could hear him, really.

Marik nodded apprehensively, approached the door without Serenity's consent and reached for the buzzer once more. Everyone watched him curiously, as he rung the bell for a second time, and received a not-so-polite response.

"_I said get the hell outa here!"_ the insolent woman shouted from the other side of the line. Marik shared a glance with an angry-looking Bakura, whose blood-fetish had come to the surface yet again.

"Let's slaughter her slowly and painfully…" Bakura suggested with a glint of his canines, making Marik grin lightly. Ryou, however, didn't find this at all humorous, and shouted towards the house's general direction.

"Let us in! Joey's sister is here to see him!" he cried at the top of his lungs. Marik and the others hoped for a response from the intercom, but there came none. Ryou, now moderately angered, rushed to the door-front and lightly pushed Marik out of the way. He proceeded to scream at the door again.

"It's SERENITY! JOEY'S SISTER! HELLOOOO!"

"Oh dear" Marik muttered in Bakura's ear in a mock-hurt tone "I believe he's becoming a normal guy again…the horror!" Bakura's red eyes laughed at that, as he kept watching his Brightside pound at the door. Who could have thought? Both Bakura and Marik smiled fondly, watching Ryou release an impressive testosterone level. It seems that when finding a mate to protect, even the meekest of lambs can become wolves,

"OPEN UP! COME ON!" he shouted. Tea, Serenity and Yugi tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't have it. He continued shouting at the woman to open the door, repeating that Serenity was Joey's sister and she deserved to see him.

"I guess he's really intent on getting Serenity to her brother, huh?" Marik commented idly, watching Yugi try to proclaim there was no chance Joey was in that house, and even he was, he would be scared out of his wits by now.

"A-Ah.." Tea answered Marik from a few feet beside them. Bakura just grinned maniacally from the sidelines, reveling in the rare feeling of anger from Ryou's part.

Finally, Ryou stopped pounding at the door, and there was silence everywhere. No one spoke, waiting for some kind of response. The intercom seemed dead- there was no chance to find Joey now..

"Forget it guys…they're never gonna let us in…" Tea sulked, and Serenity took Ryou's hand in her own, caressing his face and thanking him for all his efforts to help her. They had only started to back away from the house- with Bakura sending suspicious glances to it, as usual- when the voice from the intercom broke out again, all of a sudden.

"_Is it…true?"_ the woman asked, this time seeming more shocked and less brash than before _"Is Serenity really there?"_

A startled Serenity approached the door yet again, with Ryou's arm wrapped securely around her shoulders. She stared at the speaker motionlessly, as though processing something in her mind. Then, hesitantly, as though afraid to believe what she was about to say, she spoke her thoughts.

"…Mai?" Serenity asked in disbelief.

Silence form the intercom.

A thump was heard from the door in front of them, and before they knew it, the ebony metal had split in two to reveal the person standing behind it.

"Oh my God, it _is_ you!" the tall, blonde woman that had just been revealed positively shouted, as she threw herself at Serenity, gathering the girl in her arms.

If one had looked closely, they would have surely seen slim rivers flowing down both womens' cheeks.

"Oh, Mai!" Serenity cried, hugging the other woman back. The others, who saw the newcomer for the first time, were quick to notice that the woman- though surely beautiful in a youthful sort of way- had gauges wrapped around both her forearms. She seemed to be extremely careful to avoid touching Serenity with them.

"We missed you so much!" Mai said, as she pushed back to look at Serenity in the eyes. The auburn-haired girl smiled and hugged Mai for a second time. Everyone observed Mai's long, curly platinum hair, her bright amethyst eyes- much like Yugi's ruby ones- and her sweet smile. Was this really the woman that had cursed at them only a minute ago through the intercom?

"Mommy! Mommy! Who are these people?" a childish voice erupted suddenly from behind Mai, and everyone had a chance to finally notice the short little boy that was hiding behind Mai's knees, looking terrified, frankly.

Serenity's eyes widened as she readily recognized a mop of dirty blonde hair on the boy's head. The familiar brown eyes smiled up at her, and if it wasn't for the slightly softer facial features, she would have sworn Joey was looking at her.

'Wait…'mommy'?' Serenity thought in wonderment, as she felt Mai let go of her and rush to take care of…her son! Mai with a kid! Where was this world coming to!

"Nice…" Bakura muttered appreciatively as his eyes skimmed up and down the expanse of Mai's mini-skirt clad legs –not to mention, of course, his not-so-subtle looking at her rare-- "_Very_ nice…"

"Oh, please!" Ryou rolled his eyes from beside Yugi at hearing Bakura's comments. Dark Yugi also rolled his eyes and muttered something about stupid ancient spirits and how he was infinitely better than wannabe villains. As for Marik, he simply snorted.

The fact that Mai didn't seem to hear Bakura was proof that she, like so many others, could not see him. The company of friends saw Mai rush to her little boy and pick him up in her arms. The child looked at them with undoubtedly frightened eyes.

"Shh…don't worry, honey. See?" she pointed at Serenity's radiant smile, which was directed towards them "They 're friends!"

The boy hesitantly nodded but still didn't seem comfortable enough to smile in front of the strangers. Instead, he clung to Mai's neck with both hands, hiding his face in the warm crook of her neck, as a gesture of shyness.

Serenity and Tea squealed at the cuteness of it all, making the poor kid blush and hide even more fervently.

"Oh, puh-lease! It's _disgusting_!" Bakura groaned, as he clamped his hands over his ears, endeavoring to block out the squeals of 'HOW CUTE!' or 'Oh, look! Woochi-woochi-woochie!'

From Bakura's side, all other males of the company snickered at his discomfort.

Suddenly, though, Mai stopped playing with her son and looked around anxiously. Her purple eyes scanned the seemingly empty road around them and she seemed nervous.

"Come inside…" she told Serenity in a very serious voice, all of a sudden "You and your friends. It's not safe to stay out here for long…"

"Ouch! Mom, watch the arms!" the boy protested from her embrace, and Mai quickly released her hold of him. He rubbed his back at the spot where her hyper-arm had accidentally hurt him, and Mai apologized in obvious regret.

"Come on in!" Mai opened the door for them and motioned for them to walk "Hurry!"

As everyone passed by her, they greeted her and thanked her for her hospitality. Marik, predictably, saluted her with his trademark mysterious grin, and her eyes seemed to glaze over at his charm for a moment, before she shook her head and smiled back.

But when it was Ryou's turn to enter last of all, Mai gave him a special small smile.

"I understand your concern about Serenity" she started saying "but please refrain from breaking my door down next time, okay?" to say Ryou had never been more lethally embarrassed in his entire life would be an understatement. The blushing albino nodded fervently and quickly walked past the amused Mai, who shut the door behind him.

They all walked in the small hall and to the softly-lit living room. It looked as if the interior of the house was as sleazy and pour as the exterior had been. No one commented, however, since they had lived in much worse circumstances than this. Well, that is, _nearly_ no one protested.

"Sheesh…you'd think they'd have a couch, at least. What is that crippled looking piece of junk?" Bakura complained in an irritated voice. From his side, Marik grinned lightly.

"That would be the couch." He muttered, when everyone was too busy talking to see him speak to the invisible spirit.

Bakura snorted snobbishly at the pathetic state of the house and proceeded to float around, checking things out.

"So, Mai…" Serenity started, when everyone had settled on the shaggy furniture "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what are you doing in my dad's house?" she asked, observing the way Mai tightened the gauges around her forearms and sat back comfortably, crossing her legs.

Bakura wolf-whistled at the exposed legs, but it was lost by the females of the group, which could only be considered a good thing, taking Mai's notoriously short temper into consideration…

"No…of course I understand, Seren!" Mai started saying, while barbaric shouts were heard from the nearby room, where Mai's son had disappeared into a few minutes before. A violent crash was heard, and Mai rolled her eyes heavenwards "Oh great! _Now _what have they done?"

"_They?"_ repeated Serenity and Marik at the same time, looking at each other confusedly.

"All right, come here this instant!" Mai roared in her not-so-subtle voice. Instantly, two guilty-looking little kids appeared in the doorway- the boy and a little girl.

"There are two?" Serenity incredulously asked, as she saw the platinum-haired, brown-eyed girl that looked exactly like Mai- apart from the eyes, of course. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Mai, however, seemed to ignore Serenity for the time being. She focused on glaring at her son and daughter. Bakura snorted as he recognized the familiar look of guilt in the kids' eyes –he himself had been forced to wear it so many times when talking to Ryou in the past…

"Can't I leave you out of my sight for ONE SECOND without having to worry about things breaking? Now go to your room! No treat for tonight!" Mai scolded. Bakura and Marik felt almost sorry for the little menaces, who seemed ready to burst into tears as they retreated to their rooms. Mai could be terrifying if she wanted to.

Mai looked at Serenity and chuckled good-heartedly. What was it with mothers and shifting moods?

"I swear I don't know what went wrong with them!" Mai laughed loudly as she took a seat opposite Tea "It's their father's fault!"

At the mentioning of 'their father', Mai's spirits seemed to dampen considerably. In fact, her voice stopped retaining that familiar loud impudence and turned into a soft mutter. Serenity and her friends noticed immediately.

Gingerly, Serenity leaned towards the blonde woman and touched her shoulder "Mai…what happened?"

Mai smiled bitterly and looked away "You mean…what happened ever since you left, or what happened in general?"

Serenity tried to soothen the lump in her throat as a brand new wave of guilt assaulted her.

"I'm so sorry Mai!" she finally cried, and latched onto a surprised Mai's shoulders "I never meant to go away and leave you guys here! But you now my mother! You know how she was….she…she took me away! I couldn't resist back then!" Serenity confessed, finally having the chance to redeem herself at least in the eyes of one of her old friends, if not her brother. Everyone around was obviously not comfortable with such emotional proclamations, and they put up a brave fight keeping quiet for Serenity.

Mai smiled in understanding and patted the girl's shoulder as carefully as she could, because of her spiky arms. "I know, Serenity…" Mai finally said "You shouldn't worry about that. When Joey found out you were gone…" here Mai's eyes filled with tears, and her voice cracked "..he was…he was very happy. He said he wanted a better life for you. You deserved a better life than us scum…he…he said…" At this point, Mai totally broke down, throwing all caution to the wind. She started sobbing in Serenity's arms, and the auburn haired girl didn't protest about the sharp spikes of Mai's hyper-arms cutting in her back.

Ryou, who watched the rivers of blood flow down Serenity's back, wanted to speak and stop his beloved, but a sharp look from Marik warned him not to interrupt. Marik turned to Yugi and Bakura and with a flick of his head, told them they should go to another room.

Yugi nodded mutely and stood up, motioning for Ryou to follow. Marik, Ryou and Dark Yugi walked out of the room, with Bakura flowing closely behind them. And as Bakura floated through the doorway to the kitchen, his red piercing eyes recognized a movement at his left. The last thing he saw, before he followed Marik, was the image of Mai's children, hunched in the staircase and watching their mother cry in Serenity's arms.

Tea scooted close to Mai's other side, when she realized the others where leaving them alone to talk.

"There, there, Miss Mai…don't cry…" Tea tried to comfort "I'm sure that whatever has happened can't be that bad! Whatever it is, you now have your friends here to help!"

But even Tea's optimistic nature couldn't be of help in the dark cavities of Earth's Catacombs. Mai was drowning in a pit of sorrow, and in the mentioning of friends, she seemed to get even worse. Mai started trying to stop sobbing, making valiant efforts to steel her voice and make it sound determined.

"I…I don't need friends. I'll…I can make it on my own…I was foolish to think I…" Mai started saying, a foreign icy determination threatening to build in her eyes.

"No, Mai! Don't say that!" Serenity urged "I'm sorry I haven't been there before, but now that I'm back, I'll help you with all I can!"

At the encouragement of Serenity's voice, Mai couldn't hold back the mute tears that ran down her cheeks.

"Serenity…thank you…you…you don't know what this means to me…" Mai said, as she finally seemed to be calming down.

Serenity soothed Mai's back and urged the woman to continue speaking "Just tell me what happened since I left, all right?" Serenity requested, making Mai nod.

"This probably isn't the best time to be telling you this…" Mai started saying, looking carefully at Serenity from beneath her long eyelashes "…but you must know your father died in a factory accident. There was an explosion…It happened about a year after you left. I'm sorry…"

Serenity gulped at the sudden revelation. She closed her eyes firmly and tried to keep her unshed tears from flowing. He may have been a helpless drunkard, but he was her father…Her father was dead. Somehow, she had already known it would turn out like this…But there was no use mourning now for a man she had despised most of her life. After all, she had to be strong for Mai, now. She couldn't afford losing herself in grief as well. "I'm sorry too…" Serenity finally managed, for lack of anything better to say "If only he'd tried to be more…understanding…" she finished, and Mai nodded.

"Anyway…" Mai continued, brushing the subject aside for later "years went by and…well, Joey and I got to know each other better…and…"

Serenity mustered a smile "Yeeeees?" she egged on, grinning and wiggling her eyebrows at Tea from the side. It was always fun to watch serious Mai make sentimental proclamations!

"Well, you know…even if we hated each other at first…then we kind of…and then there was that time we…so, you know. We…uh, we got married." Mai finished, refusing the fact that she was still reluctant to admit she had fallen for the thick-headed blond buffoon after all.

"My God!" Serenity chuckled "If they'd told me this five years ago, I would have told them to get a health checkup! Joey and Mai? No way! You guys were practically at each others throats ever since the first day you met!"

Mai smiled brightly at the sweet memories "Yeah, well…It wasn't my fault if he was always trying to prove he was better than me in _everything_! And you know how I feel about being the best in what I do…" Mai winked cheekily at that.

Serenity shook her head dismissively "Trust me, I know."

Tea giggled eagerly "You know what they say about there being a thin line between love and hate! Many people express their attraction to each other by fighting at first. Then, they find out they loved each other all along and they bash their heads on the wall for never realizing it before!"

Mai raised an eyebrow "You know, I couldn't have explained it better. Only in Joey's case, it's not Joey's head which will be hurt, it's the wall!"

All three girls chuckled at that, commenting about male stubbornness and how Joey seemed to have an excessive amount of it in his system. Then, all of a sudden, Mai's expression turned pained again.

"We had Lui first, and then there was Zora" she explained, referring to her two children. Serenity sobered up when she saw Mai's expression. "Joey loved them so much from the first moment…and me…he promised me he'd find a way to get us out of this Catacomb and out to another planet. He said we deserved better than to rot like this in this place…our children deserve better…"

Serenity and Tea both nodded, understanding the love of a parent towards their child, and the will to make life better for their descendants.

"I understood. I told Joey we'd find a way, somehow, but he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, no matter what…"

Oh no. Serenity thought this story was not going good. And if she knew her brother, she had yet to hear the worst part.

"He started dealing with all kinds of people…dangerous people…I told him to forget it for now- that it was better to live a safe life than do illegal dealings for a chance to leave Earth…But of course, being Joey, he didn't listen. And then, one day, he got a call from one of the top MultiCorp executives- one of the most important people in the Complex. They asked him to meet them in the upper levels that evening, and they said they would give him a way to leave the planet…"

"Oh-Oh." Serenity said, knowing what was coming.

Main nodded in understanding "Exactly. I told him it was fishy and dangerous. What would the top executives want with a simple worker, all of a sudden, anyway? But he didn't listen, blinded as he was to get us out of the planet…So he left to meet that guy that evening…" Mai's voice trembled "…and he hasn't come back since then. It's been nearly a month!"

Tea covered her mouth with both her palms, and Serenity put a hand over her heart, to steady its frantic beating.

"He couldn't have left you." Serenity reasoned "Joey would never do that."

Mai nodded quickly "I know! But…maybe he's hurt…I don't know why they're after us all of a sudden, but I can't trust anyone!" Mai said in a regretful tone "that's why I'm so careful with answering the door! Now that Joey's not home, I can't afford leaving the house or going to work! I have to stay here and look after the kids…Tristan helps, as much as he can, but…"

Serenity bucked-up quickly "Have you asked Tristan if he's heard anything about Joey?"

Mai looked at her in a disbelieving look "Are you crazy? Of course I've asked him! I've asked _everyone!_ It's been more than a month, I'm telling you!" Mai suddenly let out a long sigh and seemed to be resigned to her fate "It's like the earth opened up an swallowed him whole…he couldn't have just disappeared…so yeah, maybe he did leave me. That's why I'll never trust people again."

Tea's tearful eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously in denial "You can't say that! That's impossible, Miss Mai! I never knew your husband, but from what I've heard from both Serenity and you, he sounds like a person who would do anything for his family and the people he loves!"

Mai's eyes filled with tears all over again "I know!" she said in frustration "You know how hard it is to have him here one day, telling you he'll never leave you, and then the next morning he's gone! No sign of him! And it's the same for Tristan and Duke too…they've lost a best friend too…and even though they try to be there for me, it's not the same…I need Joey…"

Mai let out a shaky breath and took her face carefully in her mutated, hyper-palms "Curiously, that council member that called Joey in his house has obviously not been heard of for a long time, too…You know how it is, of course, simple workers don't get to see top executives very often, but nobody has seen that guy ever since Joey disappeared…"

A heavy voice was suddenly heard from the kitchen doorway, making all three girls whirl around and stare, as Marik sauntered in the room.

"Well, in that case, I think it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Either that council guy has done something with Joey or something happened to them while they were together in the meeting!" Marik reasoned, breaking in the conversation out of the blue.

"MARIK ISHTAR!" Serenity pointed an accusing finger at him "Have you been eavesdropping!"

'It's hardly difficult NOT to eavesdrop when one is shouting the way you women do!" Yugi came in, and Serenity noticed his eyes seemed to be wider and more innocent than before. He looked like the habitual Yugi she was used to. She was wondering about Yugi…

"Not to be rude, Serena, but you should be a little more quiet during private conversations…" Ryou added to what the others had said, as he followed Yugi in the room. From beside Ryou, the invisible Bakura huffed at his Brightside's statement.

"I think it would be better if you told her to be PERMENANTLY more quiet, Brightside! Her whimpering is getting on my nerves!" at this implication, Ryou's eyes shot daggers at Bakura, greatly resembling the demonic Bakura himself. The spirit admired the way his glare looked on Ryou's face. Finally! Ryou seemed to be becoming less of a wimp and more of a normal man! Maybe the girl had done him some good, after all…

"Never mind that" Marik told the confused Mai "I think we should go to this 'top executive's' place and look for Joey."

Serenity shook her head in denial "It's not that simple, Marik. Council members like that live on the top of the MultiCorp factories. You need special access cards and authorizations to get up there."

Marik raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her, showing her he didn't think much of her argument "So? Has that ever stopped us before?"

Tea huffed and looked disapprovingly at him "Don't you think we should lay low for a while! After all, that's what we came here for, right?"

Mai seemed alerted "You came here to hide? From who?"

Serenity shook her head at her "It's a long story! I'll tell you sometime soon, okay?"

Mai nodded her head warily, and refocused at Marik, who called for her attention. "Listen, Mai" he started with his usual sly demeanor "Is there anyone here who we can trust? Who can help us find our way into MultiCorp and to the higher levels?"

"Well, I can't help you since I have to stay and look after the kids…then, there is always Duke and Tristan, but are you sure…" Mai started, but was yet again interrupted by Marik.

"In that case, they could help us find our way in MultiCorp, and we can take care of the rest, which is getting in the senator's place and finding Joey!" Marik turned to Serenity and Tea. "What do you think?"

Serenity sighed and shook her head "As much as I want to find my brother, Marik, this is just way too risky…I think we can't do this right now."

Suddenly, a flash came from Ryou's chest, and the boy's white hair seemed to get a little spikier than normal. The Bakura spirit was no longer floating around.

"I say you're all a bunch of wimps!" Bakura stated matter-of-factly, sauntering around in Ryou's body. He strategically kept his eyes a mahogany color, but Marik could readily see through the façade. The tanned blond rolled his eyes at Bakura's words. Though honest, Bakura certainly wasn't the ideal orator.

"First you go on and on about how much you miss this guy and how much you want to find him. Then you start bitching and moaning about him. Then you start _crying_ over him!" he said the last phrase in an almost disgusted fashion "And now, when you finally get the chance to actually find him, you say it's too dangerous, and Kaiba is after our asses and blah blah blah…I say we go out there and get this guy! We'll never find him if we just stand here scratching our heads and talking about him!" Bakura finished with a shout and put his hand in front of Marik "Who's with me?" he asked.

Almost immediately, Marik's palm slammed down on his.

"I am." He cooed at Bakura with his deep voice, sending his glistening eyes to tickle Bakura's spine "Coz we'll never get away from Kaiba if we don't start trying to sort things out instead of running from them…"

Bakura's eyes glittered back at him, and the spirit grinned hungrily at him alone.

"I am too." Kind Yugi said, as he put his hand over the others and looked at Tea apologetically "I don't want to be left out from all the fun, when I can be of some help. Besides, you guys are my friends, and I want to help you."

And thus, the magic word was said, and Tea shot up from her seat immediately. She ran to the boys and put her hand over their palms "That's right!" she said "We _are_ friends, and if we don't help each other, no body will!"

Finally, they all looked at Serenity, who was flabbergasted, looking first at the spirit in Ryou's body, then at Marik, who was watching her expectantly, and then at Mai, who seemed utterly confused, but grateful nonetheless.

The auburn haired girl hesitantly put her hand over the others, looking in wonderment at their joined palms.

"All right!" Yugi grinned at Serenity, who hesitantly smiled back at him.

"Now we'll find Joey for sure!" Tea excitedly said.

"One…two…three… ALL RIGHT!" they all shouted, as they threw their joined hands in the air in unison.

"Okay! Mai, call Tristan and Duke! Tell them to come here and meet us ASAP! Yugi, Tea, Serenity, go prepare anything you can- smoke-chips, communicators, anything! Bakura…I mean Ryou, come with me!"

Bakura smirked at Marik's customary fall-up. He really saw no reason to hide the fact that he wasn't Ryou- everybody except Mai knew it anyway. As Bakura watched the others do what Marik had instructed them, he saw Mai stand up and walk towards him. He reveled in the fact that he was finally visible to her- what a unique chance to interact with a gorgeous blonde!

Mai looked at him in a curious, strange way "You're a really loud one, aren't you?" she asked, and Bakura amusedly remembered that Mai had seen Ryou screaming and pounding at the door. Now, the second time she really heard him speak, she'd heard him shouting at the others to get a grip. Ha! If only she knew what a wrong picture she had of 'Ryou'.

'She's one to talk…' Bakura amusedly thought, reminiscing Mai's generally screechy, very loud tone of voice.

/ Oh my GOD/ Ryou's voice came unbidden from the deep recesses of Bakura's mind /I can't believe you've embarrassed me so much/

Bakura smiled on the outside and telepathically answered Ryou no need for me to do that, Brightside. You'd done it yourself before I even had a chance to take over your body!

Mai looked at him with a bemused, raised eyebrow and a little grin "Anyway…thanks for wanting to help…"

Bakura gave her what qualified for his sexy, lop-sided smirk. "No prob." He slyly said "Anything for you…" and as Mai turn around and started to walk up the stairs Bakura added "…doll."

/ EWWW! Yami I can't BELIEVE you! Give me my body back, right now! Before Miss Mai hears you say something like that and you embarrass me further/

Bakura rolled his eyes on the outside and walked in the kitchen, where Marik was waiting for him.

You obviously didn't see her very well, that's why you say that Brightside…and the size of her-

/ YAMI stop it! She's a married woman/

Bakura clicked his tongue. Why did Ryou always have to go and spoil it all?

I know…damnit! Maybe if I can 'take care' of her husband…

/ YAMI/

Even though Ryou chided Bakura for his behavior, though, he never failed to notice there was no emotion behind Bakura's words, which proved he was only joking. He wasn't being serious when he talked about Mai.

"What's wrong? You seem pissed." Marik idly commented while sitting on the kitchen counter and biting lightly on a strange red fruit that Bakura didn't remember seeing before.

"It's nothing…" Bakura nonchalantly said, as he signaled for Marik to throw him one of the red fruits too. He never passed on a chance to experience the sense of taste when in Ryou's body. Marik grabbed the sanguine-like thing and threw it at Bakura, who caught it effortlessly.

Bakura leaned back on the nearby wall and bit into the fruit. Interesting. It tasted like a pineapple but looked like a sanguine. Maybe it was a mutated strawberry or something…

"Mai's friends will meet us here soon. I guess we can just chill…" Marik said, flicking his tongue out briefly to lick the stray juice that had slipped on his bottom lip.

When Bakura's started staring at Marik's lips as though mesmerized, the tanned boy froze. If Bakura was always vigilant to not let his emotions slip, Marik realized, it was because when he _did_ let them slip, he lost the ability to control them. The dead give-away of Bakura licking his lips as he stared at Marik was proof enough.

With his heart beating erratically, and feeling strangely encouraged, Marik bent down to take the ripe fruit in his mouth again, this time simply rubbing it against his lips and play-biting it. He tried to ignore the frantic beating of his heart, as he saw Bakura's jaw threaten to drop and the albino take a hesitant step forward. Marik belatedly realized that Bakura was not a see-through spirit any more, so when the albino had moved closer, the heat of an excited body came with him.

It was nothing compared to what Marik had felt in the hovercraft, before. When Bakura was in his spirit form, there was only that underlying heated emotion, but when Bakura was real and tangible…

Marik just couldn't believe this was happening. Wait, it could not be happening! Marik was never attracted to other guys! To be specific, Marik had never been attracted to people, in general. Until now, he had seen peoples' hormones as a way to manipulate them. Just lean over a woman and act as if you like her, and she melts to putty at your feet. What was happening with Bakura was nothing like that. It was uncontrollable, wild…meant for pleasure and not manipulation. And Marik hated being left at the mercy of his emotions.

Okay. Yearning to have Bakura's attention and respect was one thing, but actually looking forward to Bakura's touching him was totally different! What was happening? This was crazy! Bakura was dead- this couldn't be happening!

The fact that he even found it so normal to flirt with Bakura was slowly starting to scare the living daylights out of him. What the heck was he doing, putting on a show? These were things strippers did in clubs! Marik was neither a female, nor a stripper; therefore, he found it horrifically extraordinary that he was actually trying to seduce somebody, and another guy no less, by sucking into a _fruit_!

The most terrifying, arousing part of all of this, however, seemed to be the fact that Bakura was freely taking the bait. He didn't even seem to try and hide it any more. He came closer. Closer. _Closer!_ His scorching breath was burning Marik's open lips. They were inches apart, as Bakura took Marik's hand, which was holding the fruit, and brought it to his own mouth.

/ Yami, what are you doing/ Ryou frantically inquired, not really wanting to understand Bakura's emotions, which were raining down on him through their link. It was not like with Mai…no…this time, Bakura didn't say anything, yet Ryou understood it all. Every excruciating detail was there. When had this situation started getting so out of hand?

This was impossible. It could not be happening! Ryou's frantic thoughts rolled around Bakura's mind, disorientating him. With an aggravated flash of his ring, Bakura put Ryou in a mind-coma, rendering him unconscious of what he was doing. Bakura grinned darkly back at Marik's lost, vulnerable, and overall dreadfully alluring expression.

"What 's wrong? You seem nervous…" Bakura remarked lazily, breathing warmly against Marik's wet, juice-coated fingertips.

"I…" Marik started, but never really meant to finish that sentence, as he hoarsely stared down at their hands.

The boy's breaths came in wild, uneven rasps. His lips trembled uncontrollably, and his eyes became half lidded and glazed over. In a horrifying, heart-stopping moment, he felt something warm nudge his thighs apart and gasped freely, looking down. Bakura had successfully adhered himself to the counter, against Marik. The violet eyes were now wide, unblinking, as he felt the unmistakable touch of what was Bakura's lips brush against one of his fingers, while biting into the fruit.

Marik chocked, staring first at Bakura licking the slick red juice, which was sliding down their adjoined hands, and then at Bakura's eyes, which had been turned from deep mahogany to blood red- just like that God-damned fruit. Marik started as he felt Bakura's other hand slide torturously slow up his leg, pulling his thigh further against Bakura's torso, forcing Marik to glue his entire body against Bakura's- pressed up in one

The tanned blonde was frozen in place, disbelieving, yet so painfully, undeniably aroused. He watched the feral, hungry look with which Bakura's eyes approached his. He noticed fleetingly that Bakura had completely abandoned the effort to keep his hair from spiking up- now they were raised in wild spikes, reflecting his excited mood. The muscles in his arms rippled suddenly, as he tugged at Marik's hand- which was still holding the fruit- and forced it around his neck. Automatically, Marik let go of the fruit, which tumbled to the floor with a soft thump and stayed there, completely forgotten.

Marik knew what was coming, as he saw the red eyes he had been dreaming of glaze over and become half-lidded. He actually felt hot air being pushed down his throat, and he knew he was close enough to be breathing the other's breath. Involuntarily, Marik's own eyes responded and slid closed, as he –terrified though he was to admit it- gave himself up totally, allowing his other hand to dig into Bakura's hair as a primal instinct. The heat of Bakura's body nested between his legs, flushing up against his body… Marik threw all caution to the wind, tightening his legs and letting them squeeze Bakura's sides sensually. The gentle pull of Bakura's hand on his forearm,making him wrap his arms further around the albino, intensified even more, as Bakura responded in his own way to Marik's surrender.

Marik didn't want to think how his face looked like, for once. He just gave himself completely to that searing heat, that scorching sensation. It was coming. Bakura was so close. The albino licked at his lips and Marik almost felt the motion brush against his mouth. _So close._

"Hey guys!" came a sudden call from outside, and before Marik knew what was happening Mai had opened the kitchen door and stepped in. Bakura froze, his hands having stilled their caresses completely. His wide, red eyes stared at Marik's huge, dilated ones, which were now solely focused on a stunned Mai.

"Uh…" she started with a dry tone that certainly didn't become her "Sorry for the interruption…"

Marik saw Bakura's eyes close more dejectedly than angrily, as he took a step back, leaving the embrace of Marik's legs. To say Marik felt ridiculous, and absolutely dirty, sitting pressed up on the counter the way Bakura had left him, would be an understatement. Mai raised an inquisitive eyebrow as she saw the fallen fruit on the floor, but said nothing. Following the trail of her eyes, Marik's eyes widened and he jumped off the counter, kneeling to grab the fruit.

"Thanks for helping…uh…Ryou…but I could reach it myself." Marik shakily amended, wanting to crawl in a little hole somewhere and die, having just uttered the most pathetic excuse ever. Bakura obviously seemed to think so too, since he discreetly shook his head at the blond in disappointment.

Marik sighed, looking at the ground.

"I just need Zora's milk." Mai quickly said, trying to hide her amusement, much to Bakura and Marik's horror. She moved towards a cupboard, opened it and started doing something with a weird white dust- putting it in a bottle and mixing ingredients. "Then I'll go call Tristan and Duke, so I can tell them to come over, okay? They'll be off work in about an hour." Mai explained, while she perfected the milk recipe for her daughter. She valiantly tried not to catch anyone's eye.

"Uhh…great, Mai! That's great!" Marik urged, for lack of anything better to say or do. He too, was desperately trying to avoid looking at anyone- especially Bakura.

"Okay…" she said, and after exchanging a few hurried glances with each of them, she scurried out of the room. Bakura was now standing more than three feet away from Marik, his red eyes carefully avoiding Marik's violet ones. Marik's heart immediately became heavier in his chest, as he reluctantly glanced at Bakura's disappointed, clearly flustered face.

"Ahem…Let's go, then…" Marik cleared his throat and continued avoiding Bakura's eyes as he walked around the albino and towards the exit. Bakura stood there staring at him for a moment, before he nodded to himself, scowled and turned to follow Marik out of the door.

They had a promise to fulfill after all. They had to find Joey.

**OMG! OMG! Bakura almost dry-humped Marik! Whoa! What was I thinking when I was writing this? (I bet I was on a serious amount of crack!)**

**I can't believe it? What's gonna happen now? Will they find Joey? Will the world be saved? Will Kaiba be redeemed in the eyes of the readers? Oh SHIT! I think my brain' s on overload at five in the morning! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! faints XX**

**See you at the next chappy guys! Please remember to review, ya? I'll give you a cookie! No! Two cookies! No wait, a whole carton of big chocolate-crust cookies! Oh, just forget it…I gotta sleep.**


	15. BATTLE CITY

**Thanks so much for sticking with this story! Turning out to be a novel, isn't it?**

**Anime-Fan, special thanks for your long reviews (I'm really sorry I can't answer right now, but I appreciate it SO much! It makes my day! ) **

**Guys, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Please read this chapter and tell me what you think!**

Until he saw Tristan Taylor, Marik firmly believed that Yugi had the strangest hairdo he had ever seen in a man. When Mai's two friends, Tristan and Duke rang the doorbell and came in the house, however, the one who held Marik's 'weirdest hair' title changed.

Tristan Taylor was a friendly guy. He was certainly very tall- a little taller than Marik and Ryou, but not as tall as Bakura- and he was also very strong-looking. One would say he looked almost intimidating with his imposing height, wide shoulders and rippling muscles. What made him even more intimidating were the brutal iron spikes that protruded from his elbows, forearms and each of his fingers. The notoriously strange corona of Tristan's head was shaped in one, single brown spike, making his head resemble a pyramid. Tristan's hazel eyes were warm, and reminded Marik faintly of Rishid- it was the same protective, warm aura.

Tristan's companion, Duke Devlin, was, for lack of ay better term, mysterious. Although in Tristan's case the hyper-arms had helped enhance his sturdy appearance, on Duke the hyper-arms had a freaky effect. Duke's frame was much slimmer and leaner than Tristan's, though he didn't seem less strong. His skin was dirty and reddened from the fires of the factories, and his relatively long ebony black hair was gathered in a lanky ponytail. Duke's ears were adorned by curious dice-like earrings, and his arms had iron rings tied around them. The steel spikes that pierced viciously through the skin of his forearms looked mutated in comparison to the rest of his delicate body. Overall, one would expect Duke to make sibilant snake sounds when he talked, given his shockingly _green_ snake eyes, which reminded Marik of grass and flowers- which he had only seen in photographs.

Bakura was silent from Marik's side as they watched Mai rush to welcome her friends. Lui and Zora, Mai's son and daughter, looked exultant at the appearance of their father's friends. Their previously bashful demeanor changed immediately when they saw Tristan come through the door.

" Uncle Twishtan! Uncle Duke!" Zora called eagerly as she adhered herself onto a laughing Duke's leg.

"Heya squirt!" Duke wholeheartedly laughed, patting Zora's head cautiously, almost reverently, so as not to hurt her with his arms. He smiled briefly, and it brightened his chilly green eyes for a moment, but a lingering melancholy quickly came back to them. From Duke's left, Tristan chuckled as well, taking Joey's son in his arms and flinging him around in the air.

"WHOOOHOO!" Duke laughed with the kid, as they spun around wildly, narrowly missing hitting Mai on the head "Oops! Watch it! God knows we wouldn't wanna hit your Mom!"

Mai immediately glared playfully "Now what's that supposed to mean you big-headed monkey!"

Tristan faked a mock-shudder and Lui mimicked him faithfully. Mai crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tristan, you are so childish…Just be careful not to affect my son…As if one buffoon wasn't enough in our house…trust me, we don't need another!" she said, glaring.

"Ohhh…wouldn't wanna piss Mai off, would you uncle Twishtan?" Duke teased from the side, cracking up " After all, you do remember the time when Joey broke that vase…"

Tristan shuddered for real this time, and it was a bit strange to see his strong shoulders dropping "Oh no…don't remind me…" he stated.

"HEY!" Mai started, annoyed "That was an antique vase, passed down by my mother's grandmother's second cousin twice removed!" Mai huffed for a moment "And if it hadn't been for your monkey-manners which rubbed off on Joey, he would have never broken it!"

"Oh, right! As if you really believe that!" Duke couldn't help but comment, earning a square glare from Mai.

"Are you a monkey, uncle Twishtan?" Zora asked innocently, not understanding where this conversation was going, with all those monkey innuendos.

Bakura smirked, leaning towards Marik's ear "Maybe the kid is more perceptive than I gave her credit for…" he whispered in the tanned boy's ear, sending a shiver down Marik's spine. Though Marik knew it was a comment meant for good humor, he couldn't find it in himself to laugh. He was too preoccupied by the knots that had twisted in his stomach upon feeling Bakura's scorching breath, rather than what Bakura had actually said.

"Don't listen to your mom, Zora." Tristan steadily reassured, turning a wicked grin towards Mai, all of a sudden "She just doesn't want to admit that she's a cow, and tries to blame everybody else!"

Zora's eyes widened in gullible surprise "Mommy's a _cow?_" the three-year-old asked in wonder.

"Forget it. I take it back." Bakura told Marik in a long-suffering tone. Marik snorted and shook his head.

"Don't tell my children these things! You'll affect them!" Mai screeched in frustration.

Tristan raised his hands in a gesture of surrender "It's not my fault! Seriously Mai, you should stop lying to your own kids. It's a lost cause. We all know, deep down, you're a cow!"

"I am not a cow! Stop saying it or Zora will believe it!" Mai demanded with her fists tightened.

"Don't try to hide it Mai! Let Zora know the truth!" Duke called, continuing the pharse.

"Mai is a cow! Mai is a cow! Mai is a cow! A toothy toothy cow!" Tristan chanted in a singsong voice, grabbing Zora and Lui's hand and running around Mai in a circle. Mai was positively fuming as they sang around her, and Duke held his tummy from the side, laughing hysterically.

"Scratch it. They're all idiots! To think that they're the ones who are supposed to help us find the Jo bozo!" Bakura almost wailed. Yugi, Tea and Serenity watched the laughing friends with smiles on their faces, promptly ignoring Marik and Bakura- who were standing on the side.

Mai suddenly took a deep breath and puffed up her chest. Seeing this from the side, Duke made a strange sound that suspiciously sounded like "Oh shit!" and rushed to cover his ears.

" OK, SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUPP!" Mai screamed at the top of her lungs, making Marik, Bakura and all the others cover their ears and scrunch up their faces. Once Mai's little outburst was over, the living room turned absolutely quiet. The only thing that made a noise was the coffee machine from inside the kitchen,

Mai's face turned from frustrated to satisfied within seconds "There. Now, since we are all calm," she glared at Tristan when she said this "I suggest we get to business."

Serenity and her friends daintily uncovered their ears, only to smile and nod when they heard Mai's words.

"So, Mai. Will you tell us who the newbies are?" Duke asked eagerly, his eyes having fallen immediately on Serenity's elegant figure.

"Yeah, Mai! Just proves how much of a cow you are! We've been standing here all this time and you have yet to introduce us to your friends!" Tristan complained, but one could see that he meant well. Unfortunately for Serenity, his eyes had already captured her auburn long hair too.

"I would if you'd let me _speak!_" Mai protested loudly, walking towards Serenity and Marik. Tristan, Duke and the kids followed her, but when Tristan and Duke reached the shaggy sofa, they lost no time in crashing on it. Suddenly, as though all the previous excitement had left them, they seemed tired. Very tired. In fact, it looked like they barely managed to keep their eyes open. Perhaps that little dance around Mai had been their last energy- work in the doom of the Catacombs had worn them out.

"This is Marik, Ryou, Serenity, Yugi and Tea." Mai introduced them in the order they were standing. " Guys, meet Tristan and Duke- my husband's best friends. Serenity and the others come from Mercury."

Duke raised an eyebrow at the last statement and Tristan narrowed his eyes "Great. And what are all these people doing here?" Tristan asked. Serenity was shocked that one of her childhood friends didn't recognize her. Not only that, but he didn't seem at all friendly towards her either. She was glad that Tristan had taken it upon himself to protect Mai and her family…but he was in for the shock of his life this time.

Mai's eyes widened "Tristan are you nuts?" she asked, realizing all of a sudden that her kids were watching "I mean…Tristan are you crazy? Didn't you hear what I just said? This is _Serenity!_ As in, Joey's sister!"

The climate changed immediately, though Marik couldn't tell if it had become warmer or colder. Tristan turned his eyes on Mai in utter disbelief.

"Joey's _what?_" he asked. Somewhere on the back, Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Joey's sister, you idiot! We used to take her to the arcade? Remember!" Mai asked, not believing Tristan could actually forget the sweet little girl.

It seemed to dawn on Tristan and Duke simultaneously, since they turned incredulous eyes on the smiling Serenity.

"_This_ is Wheeler's sister?" Tristan asked, clearly showing that the fact could not register in his mind.

"The mutt has such a pretty sister?" Duke demanded, making Serenity blush crimson and look at 'Ryou' for support, only to realize 'Ryou' wasn't looking at her, or helping her, for some reason.

"Of course I remember! Serenity, do you remember that time we went to the factory together and I let you play with my hover? You were a little kid, then…" Tristan had now positively darted towards Serenity, former tiredness forgotten, and was smiling at her in his most charming way. Serenity looked at him in confusion, not knowing what to say.

"Um…Tristan…"

"But of course you remember me too, don't you Serenity? I'm the one who took you to the mall and bought you that great set of clothes, right? Wasn't that great?" Duke asked eagerly, launching himself immediately to Serenity's other side, making the girl blink at him confusedly and nod.

"Duke…"

"Oh, stop it! Serenity needs a REAL man, not some sissy to buy her clothes!" Tristan barked at Duke, turning a contradictory angelic smile at Serenity "Say, Serenity, would you like to come with me at the movies tomorrow? They say there's a great film!"

"Don't listen to him, Serenity!" Duke rebuked fervently " You need a man who's in touch with his emotions! How can a brute like Tristan know what you really need! Hey, why don't we go on a ride with my new hovercraft tomorrow, after I finish work! It'll be great!"

"Um…actually…I…" Serenity looked desperately towards Ryou, only to find merciless, scornful red eyes looking at her. Serenity bit back her involuntary whimper at seeing Bakura and gulped. Apart from the fact that Bakura was leaning back and smirking at her, Marik had his elbow steadied on Bakura's shoulder and was also smirking at her. Yugi, Tea and Mai had engaged in what looked like interesting conversation. So, Serenity was left alone, to deal with the compulsive suitors. Oh…where was Ryou when you really needed him? But that wasn't really fair, since it wasn't Ryou's fault that he was missing anyway…

"Don't try to steal Serenity's attention when she is so obviously attracted to me, dice-boy!1" Tristan roared.

"YOU! How can a girl as wonderful as Serenity ever turn to look at _you_? Just take a look in the mirror, Taylor, and you'll finally understand why Mai calls you a monkey all the time!" Duke spat back.

"I'm Joey's best friend, so I should be the one to date her!"

"Oh my God, that is the most PATHETIC argument I have heard in my entire LIFE!" Duke smirked "Wait till Joey comes back and we'll see who's da man!"

"Oh yeah? You wanna brawl with me, dice-dork?" Tristan grabbed Duke's collar, bringing his face close to the other's.

"I don't have to brawl! I can take you on any time, fungus-haired punk!" Duke barked and pushed Tristan back, rubbing the spot where Tristan's hyper-arms had cut him.

"Now, Tristan…Duke…I…" but Serenity's gentle voice was lost in the intensity of the fight, as the two men started to insult each other thoroughly,

"That's the most pathetic display of wannabe bad-ass machos I have _ever _seen." Bakura concluded matter-of-factly, as if his observation hadn't been obvious from the start. Marik nodded knowingly from the side, assessing the fight.

"Al' right! I didn't call you here to make a scene! Don't curse in front of the kids. SHUT UUUP!" Mai shouted, her audacious voice covering the others by far. At the sound of her banshee screech, the quarrelling men finally took the message and promptly shut up. A smug looking Mai grinned.

"Good." She said, and turned towards Marik " Now that the zoo is quiet, why don't you explain the reason why you're here, Marik?" she urged and gave an extra glare towards Tristan. Then she focused on keeping an eye on her son, who was busy discussing virtual games with Yugi.

Marik nodded and was glad to finally have a chance to have a civilized chat with Tristan. The tall man eyed Marik and Bakura suspiciously, waiting for an explanation. Bakura, who was, by now, basking in the subtle touch of Marik's hand on his shoulder blade, focused his familiar vicious glare at Tristan and Duke, showing he did not trust them at all, at least not until they gave him good reason to.

"I take it you already know of Joey's disappearance." Marik stated rigidly, observing Tristan and Duke's reaction. Duke seemed to be growing more suspicious by the moment, and Tristan looked saddened by the sudden reminder.

"Believe me, we knew much earlier than you." Tristan said, in a tone that suggested he didn't like where this discussion was going. Bakura had been focused on sharing a glaring contest with Duke, as though trying to will the dice-boy's suspicion away.

"We came here because of different reasons" Marik started, trying to broach the subject appropriately "but they are not good ones. Serenity and I used to work as scientists in KaibaCorp Mercury, until an operation went wrong and Kaiba decided to kill us. Yugi and Tea are friends we met on the way to Earth…"

Duke narrowed his eyes, not once taking his eyes away from Bakura's "What do you think we are, stupid? Why would you want to come to Earth- even with Kaiba after you? No one in his right mind would want to come here!" He said. Marik opened his mouth to answer, but Bakura was speaking already.

"That's were your idiot friend comes in. " the spirit said, causing Duke to grit his teeth "Because the girl comes from Earth and has family here, we thought the best haven would be Earth."

Tristan smirked "Well you were wrong. This place is controlled by MultiCorp centrals. There is no government- there is no law. MultiCorp runs the show here. I believe you already know that Kaiba's company is nothing more than an extension of MultiCorp. Now that you're here, Kaiba'll find you in a heartbeat."

"What do you mean there is no government?" Marik demanded in confusion "How can the Catacombs run without a government?"

Duke snorted "How do you think? The Catacombs are a huge factory complex- they are huge factory buildings where spacecrafts are manufactured. They exist under the surface of every single planet. Only in this planet, it's the only thing that exists, since human life can't survive on the Earth's surface any more. MultiCorp –the company which controls the mass production of quality spaceships, has its Headquarters here."

Tristan took his queue to continue "As you can see, all the citizens here are workers in the factories. Nobody cares whether we live or die; there is no government. There is just MultiCorp and its army of machines…"

Bakura narrowed his eyes in concentration "Army of machines?"

Duke rolled his eyes "Honestly, don't you know anything?"

"Watch how you speak to me…" the spirit's red eyes flashed dangerously. Duke looked mildly unsettled, but not as terrified as one would expect.

"MultiCorp acts as government here. It controls the hospitals, the shops, the clubs…everything. To ensure security and civilian safety, there had to be some kind of police. Also, MultiCorp needed someone to defend the company in case of external attack. Thus, they created the army of machines, or CyberCops." Tristan explained.

Duke nodded in agreement, and continued Tristan's thoughts "Exactly. The machine army is a unit to ensure security and defend the catacomb at all costs. It is constituted by robots- the "Cops". They are the classic android model, of course- you know, they look almost human…only they are much faster, stronger and smarter than the average human- the perfect tracking machine."

Marik and Bakura listened carefully, as Tristan explained the rest. "Of course, the machine army ranks are arranged by hierarchic system. The lowest rank is a simple Cop, who can do nothing apart from roam the city and arrest culprits if necessary. Then there are the Lieutenants, who are usually settled in the police camps through the Catacomb city and are responsible for taking care of the Cops. There are special units, of course, like the 'Ninja', who have the license to go undercover around the city and kill, if necessary. You see, if MultiCorp is threatened by anything- including riots and working strikes- then it's the Ninja unit's responsibility to exterminate the threat. Illegally, of course…but then again, there are no laws."

Bakura asked the question that had been eating at him throughout this explanation "When you say 'MultiCorp', what do you mean? The company's owner? A super computer? There must be someone running MultiCorp, right? Some one we can hurt?"

Duke nodded slowly and started his clarification "There is a council in MultiCorp- an all powerful council. These people have even more power than your Kaiba, who is nothing compared to them. The people in this council are five, that's why they call them "The Big 5"…They don't live on this pathetic planet, of course. Each of them has an estate in some tropical planet, somewhere, and every three months all five of them come to Earth and have a council meeting to decide about the company's course of action. Ordinary workers like us never see them in person, of course- always on billboards and the huge screens that are placed here and there. When the Big 5 aren't on Earth, they leave their cronies behind to run the show…"

Tristan took over from there "These cronies- the top Executives, as they are called- are even more tyrannical than the Big 5 themselves. They practically torture us. They are humans, like us, and they were once workers in the factory. But with many years of experience…and a lot of sucking up to the Big 5, they have managed to get a higher rank. Most of them run illegal dealings with all kinds of scoundrels in order to gain more money. The executives' children immediately take their place as top Executives, without even working in the factories. That's why most of the top Executives now don't have hyper-arms. They never needed them, since they never needed to work…"

Marik nodded, finally understanding the complicated concept "So these top Executives run the commotion every day in the factories. But where do these guys live? Are they around here, in the city?"

Duke smirked "Are you kidding? No way! Here in the Catacombs, the general idea is that the higher you live, the better off you are. People like Joey and us, who are workers, live in the lowest habitable part of the city. Only the factories are lower than here. The factories are huge complexes, like hives, under and around us. In the city, workers live in the lower levels, while Executives and high society live on the upper parts- where it is closest to the surface. When the Big 5 come, they stay in these special suites which are at the very top of the city- nearly at the surface of the planet!" Duke said the last part with wonder, as if he couldn't fully grasp the concept of actually living on the surface of a planet, where the air is clear and there is space for everyone, and there are different colors around you apart from charcoal and red.

"Why do you say it like that, Duke? Haven't you been to the surface before?" Marik curiously asked.

Both Tristan and Duke looked at him as though he had grown another head. "Have you totally lost your mind! _Of course_ I've never been to the surface before? Who do you think I am? Honestly, apart from selling your soul to the devil, do you know what it takes to get there!"

Bakura raised an unimpressed eyebrow "No. How would we know?"

Tristan sighed in irritation "The CyberCops won't let us leave the Catacomb unless we have special authorization from an Executive. You need this special high-rank ID card and passport that you have to produce in order to move to the higher sections of the city. It's the same thing with the train, which takes people from one Catacomb to the other! Do you know what it takes for people to get that card? Imagine this: against all odds, somehow, you actually manage to get the card and go to the surface. You'll die of the cold before any kind of spaceship can come for you. Where will you get the money in order to travel by _spaceship!_ It's ludicrous!"

"Of course" Duke started "one can forge an ID card. There are people around here who have illegal secret dealings with top Executives who have access to ID cards…These secret dealers pay unbelievable sums of money to some Executives in exchange to painkiller drugs –for Hyper-arms- or any other kind of drug. Usually this kind of dealer can also get you a fake ID, if you can provide the astronomical amount of money they demand- or if you can kill someone they don't like. Most workers of the Catacombs try to gather money for a fake ID, but never actually make it. Lately, Joey had some connections with these dealer scum, but he never got far with the negotiations…"

At this, Duke and Tristan started talking a bit more privately, probably about Joey's efforts to make deals with drug dealers. Meanwhile, Marik and Bakura shared an alerted glance.

"We have no special ID Card. Serenity has one, but it's not nearly enough for all of us…" Marik thought aloud, allowing his palm to continue resting on Bakura's shoulder when the albino turned to face him.

"Actually, I never realized getting a card was such a big deal." Bakura admitted, his red eyes slipping around and checking whether anyone could hear them talking "I just saw that the Serenity girl had the card we needed and didn't think to question further…"

Marik nodded, his crystal eyes clouding in thought "Imagine what her mother did in order to acquire that card and get them out of here. I don't think Serenity told us exactly how her mother managed…I don't think I want to know, actually…Maybe, someday, but not now."

Marik let his hand drop down to his side as he looked at the floor quietly. This drew Bakura's attention and the albino focused on his friend, his red eyes softening imperceptibly, though he tried to hide it.

"…You okay?" Bakura asked in a shockingly gentle tone, causing Marik to raise his head and look at him in surprise. When had Bakura's hand climbed on his shoulder he didn't know, but he was glad for it.

"..Yeah" Marik said, his majestic eyes glinting alluringly "It's just that we need these ID cards to get to the Executive's house, and we don't have enough money to have a dealer forge one for us. I never expected this place to be…"

" So bad." Bakura finished for him, nodding in comprehension as his fingers caressed Marik's shoulder in spite of his better judgment "Look, it's not like we have to have money in order to make a deal for fake cards…We'll think of some other way…" Bakura pensively said, his brow furrowing in thought.

Marik nodded solemnly and turned his eyes towards Tristan and Duke, who were still talking, about Joey probably, since they both had dark melancholy in their eyes. Bakura took this as a sign that it was time to probe for more information.

"So it was one of these top Executives that called Joey in his house." Marik said, looking at Tristan for reassurance. Marik pointedly tried to ignore the fact that Bakura's hand had not quite left his body yet. Now it had made its way to his back, caressing him through the soft fabric of his ragged cloak. Marik very nearly froze when he felt the soft touch of Bakura's fingertips trail the outlines of his tattooed scars. Desperately trying to focus on the conversation rather than Bakura's touch, Marik looked at Tristan a little too intensely. From the side, Bakura didn't even hear the others talking, since he was so focused on what his damned hand was doing- on its own volition- that he couldn't pay proper attention to anything else.

"Yeah. That bastard on the first complex. Remember when I told you that these Executives are the sickest bastards in this place- sick enough to sell illegal drugs in order to get more money? Well the one who runs the first factory complex of this Catacomb is the worst of all. Nobody's ever seen him, since he always sends weird dealers to do his bidding, but we all know he's the most sadistic, sick fuck there is."

Bakura raised an eyebrow "Sadistic? Interesting…What makes you say that?" Marik rolled his eyes at Bakura's questions. Trust Bakura to talk about sadism.

Duke looked at the albino in a weird way "Sadistic. As in, likes to see people hurt. We don't work in the section of his jurisdiction but we have friends who do. Sometimes, he forces people to work without hyper-arms. You know what it means to touch acid and electric circuits without hyper-arms, right?"

Marik flinched "Yikes. That doesn't sound so good…"

"Even worse" Duke continued, now enthralled by his terrorizing stories "When somebody doesn't do his job well enough, he…uh…he _tortures _them."

Bakura perked up, sensing that the topic had come to his element "Tortures? As in, handcuffs and whips? Oh com' on guys! He's not so bad, he's just kinky!"

Tristan's eyes widened and Marik rolled his eyes yet again "What the heck are you talking about? There are rumors that he's forced people to chop their ears off with their own bare hands and then eat the ears they chopped! If they hurled afterwards, he would make them eat their vomit up! Or that other story, where he…"

"No! Thank you, that's quite enough!" Marik said with his hands stretched up. He looked slightly green at the face "I believe we got the concept."

Bakura just shook his head and pinched Marik's side to make the other boy laugh again, then turned to Tristan "That's just a pile of shit, as far as I'm concerned. That's not a creative way to torture, and it's not voyeuristic either. You're right when you say they're just rumors."

"Bakura! Don't be a freak!" Marik protested, pushing Bakura's side and making the albino snort.

"Anyway" Duke started saying, looking strangely at Bakura "Joey doesn't work in this guy's factory complex, so we were confused when he asked Joey to go meet him _in person_. I mean, he shouldn't have even known Joey existed, right? Yet there he was, calling Joey _for dinner at his house –_he would give Joey an ID, of course_…_ But still…I mean…What was that?"

Tristan nodded in agreement "We all told Joey it was fishy. We all told him he shouldn't go, no matter how much he needed the ID cards. But Joey, desperate as he was to get a pass for the Earth's surface, didn't listen to us. Instead, he went to this guy's place, and didn't come back since then."

"And you know what we started thinking, of course, with all the rumors about that guy…"Duke said, with a small shiver. Marik nodded pensively.

"You're right." The blond said "He shouldn't have gone to the meeting. But, since you're telling us that there are Ninja units and dealers and Cops and all that, it wouldn't be possible for Joey _not_ to go. Eventually, they would _force_ him to go, so maybe he did the best thing he could to protect his family and went on his own free will, without trouble for Mai and the kids."

"Never thought of it that way…" Tristan admitted.

"Of course you didn't. I only had to talk to you for ten minutes to realize you don't think on a general principle!" Bakura caustically commented, looking like he didn't expect an answer.

"Excuse me? Did you say something, snow bunny?" Tristan demanded. Bakura's red eyes widened and he seemed surprised at Tristan's response. Very out of character for Bakura to seem surprised at an insult.

"Oh shit! I forgot I'm not invisible!" Bakura said, making Marik laugh hysterically from his side. The humor of the situation was lost on the others.

"I see…another crazy one…" Tristan whispered to a nodding Duke, all the time moving discretely away from an embarrassed Bakura, who cleverly disguised his embarrassment with fury.

"Well, what are you waiting for, airheads?" Bakura positively barked "Joey's been missing for what, thirty days? And all you've been doing is pining over him! Do you even know what the Executive's name is or are you so useless so as to forget even that!"

Duke narrowed his eyes "Of course we know his name, you candy-haired transvestite!" he shouted, making Marik smirk "It's Ishrat!"

The smirk was instantly wiped out from Marik's face, just as Bakura's glare was immediately replaced by a frown. The albino turned to the tanned boy beside him, only to meet Marik's scowl with his eyes.

"Ishrat?" Bakura echoed suspiciously "Isn't your last name 'Ishtar', Mariku?"

Marik blinked at him, nodding slowly, then putting his hand on his chin pensively "The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?"

Suddenly, he felt Bakura grab his sleeve and drag him away from Tristan and Duke's prying eyes. Marik looked at Bakura, dumbfounded. Why did the albino seem so excited all of a sudden?

"Marik, don't you see? This is the chance you've been waiting for! Maybe this Ishrat guy is the lost family you have on Earth!" Bakura said, and Marik thought he'd never seen the albino so enthusiastic before. Bakura was grinning, his red eyes positively sparkling with…an alien emotion.

"But…" Marik started, and suddenly realized it would indeed make perfect sense, if his name had been subtly altered by the course of the years. "But…But still, Bakura…" Marik said, his heart beating wildly now, at the prospect of regaining his lost memory, or meeting his lost family.

"What?" Bakura eagerly asked, as he took each of Marik's elbows in his hands and held them close "What's the matter?"

Marik lowered his eyes thoughtfully, as he absently stared at Bakura's chest, which was now very near him. "Still…am I related to a sadist who tortures poor people for fun?" Marik looked reluctant.

Bakura scowled "Don't believe everything you hear, Mariku…I thought you already knew as much." then, Bakura's tone turned from reassuring to teasing "But I thought it was obvious from the day I met you that you were a sadist…From the way you like to torture me and all…"

Marik glared up at him "Idiot! You're the one you likes to torture me!" he said, pushing against Bakura's chest.

Chuckling, Bakura tightened his hold on the other boy's arms and pulled Marik closer, earning curious looks from their other friends and a gasp from Marik.

"I thought you liked it…" Bakura murmured in that husky tone, which was slowly becoming disturbingly familiar in Marik's senses. The heat of Bakura's breath hit Marik's ear, and he felt gooseflesh develop on his nape.

"Hey guys! No secrets, okay! If you wanna say something, com' ere and say it in front of everybody!" Serenity ordered suddenly. Apparently, she'd had enough of Tristan and Duke's resumed attempts at trying to court her. She wanted a savior now, and if Ryou wasn't available…well Marik would have to do.

But Marik didn't seem at all focused right then, what with the dazed, goofy grin and the darkened amethyst eyes. Bakura –also unexplainably dazed- took Marik's hand and towed the other boy towards Tristan, Serenity and Duke.

"I told Tristan and Duke that we want to help find Joey." Serenity reported, and meaningfully eyed Marik.

"Oh…right…" Marik finally caught on, shaking the grin from his face. This situation with Bakura was getting frustratingly disconcerting "Well, guys… We think that we may find some leads about where Joey is in this…Ishrat guy's house." Marik told Joey's friends.

Duke's eyes widened "Are you nuts? You want to break into Ishrat's house?"

Bakura beamed with his red eyes "We're not 'nuts'. But we're not wimps like you either. So, yes, we'll go to Ishrat's house and get your precious friend back. Now, will you help us or not?"

Tristan was taken aback "Do you even know the security systems and CyberCops you'll have to bypass in order to go to this guy's place? How do you think they'll let you pass without an ID? Hell, do you even know where Ishrat lives?"

Bakura looked at him as though he was a retard, which, to Bakura's opinion, he was. "Evidently, you impudent, insignificant worm, we do not know. Thus, we shall need your help. But don't let it get to you, you puny mortal, for we can just as easily find someone else." Bakura finished, with his nose high in the air.

"Like, whatever, you sick perv! As if I'd ever go looking for trouble in Ishrat's house. Ishrat, of all people!" Duke said the name as though it was a disgusting abomination, which had to be dealt with.

"Please tell me you're not planning to go to Ishrat's house. You're kidding right? Please say yes!" Tristan said, in a desperate tone.

"I don't kid." Bakura darkly and rigidly stated, piercing Joey's friends with his glare. (1)

"Whatever" Duke started, seemingly having made up his mind "Do whatever you want. Just don't get us mixed into this."

Marik scowled, then thought about how he could convince them into doing what he wanted. Seemed like Bakura was rubbing off on him, and now he couldn't be as confident as he used to- not when Bakura was watching and assessing every single of his movements. But, of course, if there was one thing Marik knew how to do, it was convincing people.

Charm engines blasting, Marik started his tirade "Look, I know Joey was your friend, and I know you want him back, but you have to understand that you'll never see him again if you don't do this. We're not asking you to come to Ishrat's house with us. All we want is somebody who can introduce us to one of those fake ID dealers and show us around the city. That's all we're asking for. Just think about it…don't you want to see Joey come back…?"

Tristan and Duke sobered up and avoided Marik's eyes. Now everyone was silent- even Mai, Yugi and Tea. They were all looking at Joey's pals, waiting for the critical decision.

"Please, Tristan…Duke…we can't do this without you…" Serenity pleaded, taking both Tristan and Duke's hands in her own. "Please…"

At the sound of the girl's begging and at the realization of their own belated epiphany, Joey's friends seemed to really think it over. Finally, Tristan nodded at Marik in understanding.

"Fine. We'll take you to the dealer. For Joey…and for Serenity."

At this, Duke nodded eagerly, smiling at Serenity in his most charming way.

"After all" the dice -boy said "Mai needs her stray dog back, isn't that right, Mai?"

Mai huffed in mock-annoyance and waved her hand "Jeez. You can have him if you want to. Just let me see he's okay, first." At this, she certainly softened her voice.

Marik smiled confidently once more at seeing the group's morale renewed. "Okay, then. When can you take us to see this dealer?" He asked Tristan and Duke decisively.

"The most popular dealer around right now is Bandit Kith. His usual hangout is the BATTLE CITY club downtown. We can take you to see him, but getting him to give you an ID is an entirely different story…" Duke said, looking at Marik and his posse as though they were complete lunatics.

Tristan added a thought to Duke's words "Whatever happens, though, we can't move around by hovercraft. Since you're supposedly hiding from Kaiba, it would be foolhardy to hover around completely exposed to the Cops…"

Marik nodded fervently "Of course. Besides, since hovers aren't really needed for transportation around here, it wouldn't matter too much anyway. We want to go as unnoticed as possible."

Duke raised an eyebrow "Well you sure ailn't acting like it, trying to sneak into Ishrat's house and all…"

Yugi shook his head "Whatever. We have to get ready. If there's one thing I know about games is that you must never be unprepared before you play one. Given this is all some sick billionaire's game and there are no rules, we must be prepared."

"You're right, Yugi" Tea rushed to say "We must prepare our supplies and think of a plan about how to get the IDs."

"First we need to meet that Bandit Kith guy, Tea" Yugi wisely advised, giving Bakura the impression of an insufferable know-it-all. If it weren't for Yugi's big innocent eyes, Bakura would swear it was the Game King talking "Then, Tristan and Duke can show us how to get to Ishrat's house…"

"He's right." Marik said, turning to Joey's mates "We have to see where we have to go and how. Maybe if we could go to that BATTLE CITY club…"

Tristan shrugged "Look, man, if you wanna check out the place, maybe Mai can take you. Later tonight, Duke and I will drop by BATTLE CITY and introduce you to Bandit Kith. Right now, personally, I ailn't doing shit. I wanna go home, drop to my bed and sleep. Unless of course, Serenity wants to go on a date with me…" at the last point, Tristan wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Serenity blushed.

"I'm tired too, man. Oh, Serenity…you can always go with me…" Duke added, and Marik was almost tempted to say that the situation was too important for sleep or dating. It's just that Marik ignored one basic fact: these people had been slaving away in the Catacombs since the morning, and when they said they couldn't keep their eyes open, they meant it. Serenity and Mai knew this, so they understood the need.

"I'll help them, Tristan ,don't worry! I'll show them around! You just go take a rest, okay?" Mai said "I'll just put Zora and Lui to sleep and I'll be right with ya, okay?" she urged, and took a protesting Zora from the hand.

"Mai, we'll be at the usual place, at the usual time." Tristan told Mai cryptically, arranging a meeting for later that night. Mai nodded and went to tuck her daughter in.

A few 'Bye uncle Twishtan' later, Tristan and Duke finally said their goodbyes and left the house. Marik, Bakura and company lounged around on the couches, waiting a few moments, before Mai came back rushing down. She grinned, told them to cover their faces up with their capes, and walked to the door. She would be the one to take them to BATTLE CITY and show them around the club. Fortunately, in the Catacombs, children were expected to stay home alone from a very young age.

Later that night, Tristan and Duke would hopefully introduce Marik and his friends to Bandit Kith, and they could figure out a way to acquire the notorious ID Cards, at long last.

Finally, they seemed to be getting somewhere.

* * *

Bodies slamming against each other, rubbing frantically on one another. Smoke from toxins rose above the masses of dancing people, accompanied by the overwhelming smell of drink and sweat. The music came from blasters all around, willing to rip the ground open with its intensity.

People were shouting, screaming as they flailed their limbs in the beat of the music. The spikes of the hyper-arms looked like shadows against the blinding lights of the disco light canons. In dark corners one could spot people making out wildly, hyper-arms scraping viciously at one another's bodies as they kissed, but they didn't seem to care.

Overall, no one would have expected that there could be a place in the depressing Catacombs that was so full of life. From sprays on the ceiling of the club, phosphoric paint rained down on the clubbers, bathing them in its colorful glow.

And the clothes they were wearing…Leather, spikes and chains adorned almost every inch of their bodies. People's hair was dyed in all kinds of unnatural colors, from pink and green to white and silver.

Who would have thought that the straight-laced, poor youth of the catacombs indulged in this kind of club fantasy? Moreover, who would have thought motherly Mai could know all about it. Apparently, Marik didn't know Mai as well as he thought he did. He knew Mai was a very lively person, of course, but he had perhaps forgotten that before she became a mother, she was a young girl as well, and she enjoying clubbing just like everyone else.

After paying at the entrance of the club, Mai walked first towards the doorway. Marik followed, accompanied closely by Bakura and Yugi. Tea and Serenity walked in the back of the group, looking uncomfortably around them the whole time.

From the moment Marik, Yugi and the girls set foot in the BATTLE CITY club, he thought he'd choke from the sheer stench of smoke that attacked him. Bakura didn't seem at all perturbed by the smell of smoke, he only looked annoyed by the deafening music. Mai turned at Marik and shouted something at him in order to be heard over the music, but it was still impossible to hear her.

"WHAT?" Marik shouted, holding his hands over his hood, in order to keep it in place.

"DON'T GET LOST!" Mai now screamed at the top of her lungs, with her ostentatious voice. Marik finally seemed to understand and nodded fervently at her, in order to let her know of his comprehension. Focusing solely on following Mai, Marik motioned with his hand for Bakura to keep close. Yugi, who noticed Tea getting distracted by some punk-like rockers, grabbed Tea's hand and tugged on it, thus making sure the girls would keep in track.

Marik and Bakura looked around with identical, overly suspicious, unfriendly scowls. At some point, the heat was a bit too much, and Marik carelessly pulled his black cloak off, revealing his impressive ensemble and his platinum hair. Seeing this, Bakura also removed his hood and was now only wearing well-fitting black trousers and a loose black shirt. All of the others were glad to remove their disguise, since they could feel much more comfortable.

Bakura glared at everyone and everything, especially the people who seemed to be staring at him appreciatively. He was not a hunk of meat to be drooled over, so he would not tolerate being treated like one. Marik, Yugi and the girls seemed to feel uncomfortable with the sudden attention they had drawn to themselves. It was because no one around had seen them here before that they immediately caught peoples' eye.

Scantily clad women were suddenly _everywhere_ and Marik didn't know what to think of the people staring at him. As he and Bakura walked, side-by-side, the crowd separated in two for them to pass, staring at them as if they were well-known celebrities. When Mai reached a tall staircase that led to the upper part of the club, Marik suddenly felt something warm latch onto his torso.

He was shocked to realize that a member of the hordes of scantily clad women he had noticed before had practically jumped him and was currently rubbing her partially exposed body frantically against his, in accordance to the pounding music.

"Wanna have some fun, baby…?" a ticklish girly voice echoed in his ear, making him want to wiggle away as his predator continued rubbing against him. He did not want to think she was attempting to grope his rare right now.

Marik made a small sound that was lost in the volume of the music. Okaaay…he really didn't want this to be happening? He faintly thought about where Bakura was and what he would say about this. How different it felt when this hot, half-naked girl rubbed against him and when red-eyed, brutal Bakura touched him in any way! Totally different feeling…

Suddenly, he felt the weight of the woman be lifted from his body and took a deep breath. Man, she almost choked him! He looked on his right an saw an irate looking Bakura glaring at something. Marik followed the albino's scorching gaze and met the now fallen body of the girl who had jumped him. Then he looked back at Bakura's positively wrath-twisted face.

Slowly, a coy smile crawled upon Marik's face. If he hadn't been so shocked at the moment, he would've thought Bakura was jealous.

But nothing, not even the curious gazes of the onlookers could've shocked him more than Bakura's next actions. He vaguely registered Mai, Yugi and the others had stopped walking and were now curiously watching the display.

Marik's heart leapt to his throat when he felt an iron grip positively grab his waist and slam him against Bakura's side. He couldn't contain his startled gasp when he realized the strong thing around his waist was Bakura's pale, strong forearm. It didn't stop trying to pull him closer, even when he was practically adhered to Bakura's body. Marik didn't know what to do. His heart was killing him, beating painfully in his ribcage, threatening to tear him apart.

He had no choice but to look straight at Bakura's cheekbone, which was now right in front of his nose. He expected Bakura to be looking at him, but instead he found the albino staring still at the girl who had pounced on Marik. Marik choked on his own saliva, recognizing the anger in Bakura's glare, the fierce possessiveness as he tightened his arm around the blond.

It was like that for a few moments, Marik's breathing hoarse and hot as it hit Bakura's face. Serenity, Tea and Yugi were staring at the scene with their jaws hanging. If one knew where to look, they would have surely noticed that Mai didn't look one bit surprised at the development of the situation.

Bakura glared at the desperate-looking girl for a few more moments, then gave a vicious deep growl, which reverberated through his chest and Marik's body. Suddenly, as though the whole incident had never happened, Bakura twisted his body towards Mai, consequently dragging a weak-kneed Marik along with him. Mai quickly took the hint and started walking again with a shrug. Bakura didn't even bother removing his hand form Marik's waist, letting his grip tighten even _more_, thus pulling Marik so close to his body that they were practically joined at the hip.

Marik, for his part, didn't know what to do. He settled for keeping his hand loosely perched over Bakura's shoulders, trying to look as impartial as possible, but failing miserably. His heart betrayed him when he looked at Bakura's unrelenting, scowling face- the possessiveness was still there, and it made Marik want to faint with glee.

Bakura didn't say anything, and Marik didn't really know if he wanted him to say anything. In these cases, words weren't needed. Not when Bakura's almost palpable desperation was fluttering around.

To be perfectly honest, Marik didn't fully understand what Bakura might be feeling or what it could mean. He understood one feeling, though, which Bakura emitted more than anything else: fear. Bakura's fear of losing the one person that had truly seen him. Because Marik had not seen just Ryou, but _him_, Bakura. Bakura's frantic possessiveness of Marik, his fierce passion of keeping Marik close to him, so they would never be apart. Bakura's feelings were so primitive, and Bakura experienced them in such blind intensity, that it was impossible for one to believe he was really dead.

Marik's problem was whether this feeling of possessiveness in Bakura signified a deeper kind of bond…a more complicated feeling. Were Marik's…unorthodox feelings about Bakura reciprocated or not? Did Bakura see Marik merely as a very good friend- a brother- or was Marik something even more important in Bakura's stone heart? Marik couldn't know that much, and he didn't really want to know. He didn't want to feel rejection hit him, not when he had unconsciously based so much on Bakura's existence by his side.

But then again, Bakura's hand was around his waist. Not his shoulder, but his waist. He was slowly caressing Marik's hipbone, even though he didn't seem to be aware he was doing it. Every time Bakura's thumb brushed over that small patch of exposed skin on his hip, Marik's heart gave a sharp jolt, as though reminding him painfully of his starvation for the albino's affection. Deep down, even though he knew it wasn't right, Marik's treacherous heart wished that Bakura could keep Ryou's body…that he could stay alive…alive with Marik…like this…

Marik didn't see Serenity, Tea and Yugi exchange stunned stares from behind him. The three friends didn't speak to each other and hurried to follow the now cuddled Marik and Bakura, who were being stared at from positively every single person nearby. Good going keeping a low profile, Marik! As if he didn't pull enough attention already, with the way he looked.

Serenity didn't know what to feel about watching her beloved's body being used like that. It was true Bakura and Ryou didn't exactly look the same; they were discernible, if one knew where to look. But Serenity felt lonely, seeing her boyfriend being there, but not _really _being there. Knowing those arms should be wrapped around her and not Marik made her jealous, deep inside, even though she knew Bakura wasn't Ryou.

But Bakura was unreachable to her. She'd never come close to him. And even though it was only Ryou's body that Bakura affected, not Ryou's heart, Serenity still felt horrible knowing that her boyfriend's body was being so _abused_, literally _worn_ by someone else, as though it was a costume. A mask, for Bakura to put when he wanted. Serenity bit her lip in order not to burst in shouts. She was hating this, every minute of it, watching her Ryou's face be twisted in a scrunched up glare, with scary demon eyes and wild silver hair. Ryou was being treated like naught in all this. Like a useless puppet, which Bakura effortlessly controlled.

She needed to have a talk with Ryou. Very soon.

Mai finally led them to a small settee in a forlorn corner of the club's upper floor. Like everything else in this club, this small, seemingly reserved space was drowned in smoke. Once they sat down on the curiously empty settee, they noticed belatedly that the music was drowned out in comparison to before. They looked around and realized they were located in some small portion of the club, which served as a small café, and was thus protected by the blearing music from below. The couches were bathed in a romantic blue-green light, which came from flower-shaped florescent lights.

Mai, Yugi, Tea and Serenity sat in one couch, while Bakura led Marik to sit on the couch next to theirs. Bakura waited for Marik to sit down carefully in the middle part of the settee, before he too slumped down, casually laying an arm over a startled Marik's shoulders. Although everyone seemed to be uncomfortable, Bakura steadfastly ignored them, and they slowly became a little more relaxed. Yugi, especially, was trying his best not to stare at his two male friends, who were, for some reason, acting really weird around each other lately. He did not want to think about the possibilities.

"Um…so, Mai. Tristan said he'd meet us at 'the usual place'…is this it?" Serenity asked, trying to make light conversation.

Mai, relieved to have the chance to unwind a little, answered cheerfully "Yes. Every time we come to BATTLE CITY, Joey, Tristan, Duke and I always meet in this specific spot at one in the morning. That's how the owners reserve these couches for us. Don't worry, the others will be here soon." Mai finished, and the conversation started from there. The girls of the company started talking animatedly, while Yugi stared into the distance with a dazed look on his face. If one knew about the dark spirit hidden in the spiky haired boy's puzzle, they would instantly know Yugi was having an internal conversation with the Game King, right now.

As for Bakura, he valiantly tried to suppress the agony that had been killing him ever since that girl had pounced on Marik in the dance-floor. God, he was acting like a hormonal teenager again- not knowing why he kept doing things he didn't want to do. But Marik didn't seem better off, either…seems neither of them was an adult man in matters of the heart yet, even though they were brilliant in everything else.

Bakura didn't want to think about what he was doing, all of a sudden. He didn't want to explain his actions to anyone, including himself, since he honestly didn't know the answers. He just wanted to do it and get it over with, grab Marik and touch him and get it over with. He could not afford understanding himself. He didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want to accept he was feeling it, whatever it was.

All he knew was that suddenly he felt more alive than any other time, and he wanted to stay in Ryou's body just a little longer. To touch Marik just a little longer. To be with him, talk to him, breath the same air as him just a little longer. Bakura was confused. He didn't want to feel- it was too dangerous. If he got too used to it, he might become uncontrollable, but the sweet sin of being with Marik was slowly driving him insane, anyway.

Bakura had stopped thinking about how dangerous his dependence on Marik was. He didn't want to think about it, since he knew he had lost the fight long ago. He couldn't fight this feeling any more.

Unfortunately for Bakura, he had realized he actually had a heart in the worst way possible. He had seen it falling to Marik's feet, exposed for all the world to see. Now all Marik had to do was slam his foot down and squeeze all that was precious to Bakura. Bakura's soul, his entire essence was laid out in front of the blond, and Bakura could do nothing to stop it. If Marik decided he didn't want him, Bakura would be done for.

Since he knew that he had no power over himself any more, he would make sure that Marik didn't leave him, he thought. He couldn't keep himself under control, but he would fight with all his might to keep Marik from knowing that. And if he let some half-naked bimbo in a stupid club take Marik away from him, then he'd be even more damned than he already was.

Marik had settled down under the pressure of his arm now. The blond even seemed to be comfortable, judging from the way he leant back and sighed almost dreamily. Bakura's breath caught in his throat as he watched Marik flutter his eyelids closed and open them again, revealing his crystal, amethyst eyes- shining with the blue-green glow of the lights. Bakura saw Marik stare at the ceiling. He knew that Bakura was openly watching him yet he did nothing to prevent it- actually, his heart swelled by the thought of it.

This gave Bakura a little more confidence, and he grinned a little. He leaned back too, letting the side of his face settle softly on the back of the settee. His red eyes observed Marik's profile carefully, almost reverently. He looked at the gentle curve of Marik's nose, the robust fullness of his lips, the slow movement of his Adam's apple…Marik opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, and Bakura braced himself, waiting to hear that heavenly voice ring through his ears. Marik opened his mouth, that cursed rosy mouth, and started saying something, when…

"Hey guys, you're early." Was heard the baritone of a vaguely familiar male voice, and Bakura didn't even bother suppressing the urge to grit his teeth. Why did someone always have to interrupt him when he was getting somewhere with Marik? Why? Why, damn it, why! Every single time!

"Well, it only took us about twenty minutes to get here from my house, so I guess we are kind of early. But then again, so are you, Tristan." Mai replied good-naturedly. At the sound of Tristan's voice it was like an alarm set off, and Marik jumped up like a wild hare. Bakura closed his eyes and gritted his teeth even harder. Although, Bakura knew they had work to do, it was only when Marik's enchanting deep warmth had left his side that he realized he really did have to stand up.

Marik was watching Tristan tensely when Bakura joined the action.

"Well," Duke started "I guess it's time we take you to see Bandit Kith, huh?"

Bakura narrowed his eyes at the unnecessary comment "You don't say!" the albino sarcastically remarked. Okay. He was a bit bitter. So? Anyone would be bitter in his place! He had already been denied private moments with his certain someone, and he was not happy about it.

Marik promptly ignored Bakura's words and answered Duke's question. To the outsider, the blond looked completely unaffected by Bakura. How wrong. "Yes. We have to see him. Is there something we must know about him?" Marik cautiously asked.

Tristan thought for a moment, then responded "Just that he's dangerous and he could have you scalped in a heartbeat, so you shouldn't piss him off. Also, don't expect any special treatment. If you don't have the money to pay for the IDs, don't even dream about stealing them or anything. You'll be dead before you know it."

"We'll be dead anyway." Yugi said suddenly, unable to contain his words.

Marik scowled at the group's way of thinking and turned back to Tristan "Look, just take us to Kith, all right? We'll know where to go from there."

Tristan shrugged in a way that suggested he thought Marik was highly irrational, then motioned for everyone to follow him. The lot started walking back to the lowest part of the club, then in the back of a bar, where Tristan and Duke exchanged high-fives with the barman, and finally into a privee dark room.

"Let's see that badass Bandit Kith, and how dangerous he can be…" Bakura said to himself, almost eagerly, as he observed his new surroundings. A room full of –what else?- half-naked women and smoke. There were couches here too, much like the place they were previously at, only here there was cigar smoke everywhere, and there were no soft green lights. Tristan didn't acknowledge anyone in this room, simply strode calmly with Duke on his heel and led the group to a particularly large couch, where a fat, blonde man was sitting, surrounded by women. Bakura and Marik wanted to roll their eyes from the absurdity of it all, whilst Tea looked positively horrified by the situation.

Bandit Kith was obviously the blond man who was dressed like a pimp, with ridiculously shiny objects hanging from his neck and wrists. He also had a ring on each of his fingers and a nose-ring. The most absurd thing about Kith's appearance, however, were the supposedly cool sunglasses he was wearing, which seemed laughably out of place in the middle of a room as dark as the one they were currently standing in. Even fashion has its limits.

"Hey BK. How's it goin' How's business?" Tristan asked amiably, but not too conversationally. Overall, Tristan seemed wary, which disgusted Bakura to no ends. Being Undead, Bakura was hardly impressed by any display of horror this pathetic Bandit Kith guy could muster.

Letting his eyes roam around with the instinct of a bloodthirsty predator observing its prey, Bakura noticed the butch, puffed-up guys that were standing directly behind Bandit Kith, each with a woman in hand. Kith's bodyguards, obviously.

How banal. Not at all refreshing.

Bakura would enjoy eating this Bandit guy for dinner. Him and his cronies.

"Tristan, m'boy! Now what brings your refreshin' air on our humble sida town?" Bandit Kith, or, in the terms of the locals, BK, said, with the air of a man who knows he's more powerful than the others and he likes it. He shared a hearty high-five with Tristan and turned his eyes on the rest of the company "An' ainl't than Mai. Whassup, girl? Haven't seen you in a while…How's that dinosaur of yours?" Kith asked a little maliciously, referring to Joey. Mai visibly tightened her jaw and obviously fought to keep from spitting in Kith's face. The pimp-like man grinned angelically.

Mai gave a small, reserved smile, showing she didn't like being there at all and couldn't wait to get out. From beside her, Duke was carefully avoiding looking Kith's eye. Seeing that things were starting to heat up dangerously, Tristan quickly strove to amend the situation.

"Well, BK, I brought you some friends. They're new in town, and they're looking for connections, so…I thought I'd bring them to the best." A little sucking up can't be bad, Tristan thought. He gave his all to stay in good terms with Bandit Kith, since he didn't need more troubles right now, and neither did his friends. He motioned to the people behind him, and Bandit Kith's eyes finally fell on Marik and Bakura.

"Interestin." Kith concluded, and Bakura desperately held back a comment about disappointing grammar skills. Hm. He never used to hold comments back before…looks like Marik was rubbing off on him. But then again, he was rubbing off on Marik too, right? For better or for worse, who knew? All that mattered was that Marik and he were affecting each other.

"So whassuma gonna do about you?" Kith asked Marik directly, and Tristan took a step back, taking this as his queue to leave the conversation to the others.

When Serenity had been living here she had never met Bandit Kith, and now she was glad about it, judging by the way he kept looking at Marik and Bakura- like a beast ready to tear its new victim apart.

"You know a man called Ishrat?" Marik cut to the chase directly, dismissing all attempts at seduction and sugarcoated conversation. That was something he kept doing more and more lately. Another effect Bakura had on him.

Kith's eyebrow shot up to his hairline in surprise. Then, he smiled disarmingly. "Scram, toots." He told one of the girls that were rubbing his back and she walked away along with the other women, who were probably used to being dismissed when Kith had 'business'. Yugi was disgusted, but fascinated by the sheer absurdity of this planet nonetheless.

"I see…" Kith narrowed his eyes and scowled at Marik, who was standing as a representative of the whole group, obviously "So you mean business, huh?" Kith said more to himself than anyone else. "Com 'ere kid. Have a seat." He patted the armchair, which was next to the settee he was sitting on. Marik looked at him suspiciously, wondering where Kith was going with his tirade.

Nevertheless, Marik saw it as the less dangerous solution to comply to Kith's wishes for the time being. Slowly, he moved towards the armchair Kith was pointing to and glanced at Kith's strange smile –predatory smile- for one last time before he walked closer.

"Hey, I said the kid only." Kith suddenly said, scowling. Marik saw the reason he was angry was because Bakura had walked along with him toward the chair. Bakura didn't seem perturbed for a second, although he did frown at Kith when the fat man spoke to him.

Marik was instantly aggravated, for some reason.

"If I go, he goes." The tanned boy said a bit more aggressively than necessarily and BK raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender.

"Okay, okay…Didn't mean to offend ya!"

Bakura amusedly flung his long hair behind his shoulder and, with his nose snobbishly high in the air, smirked at a scowling Kith. Marik settled down relatively comfortably in the armchair and Bakura sat on the arm of the chair, staring at Kith from behind Marik.

"Martini?" Kith offered generously.

"I'm fine, thanks" Marik gave the perfunctory polite declination, wondering where Kith was going with all this stalling. They were here to talk about something, after all, not exchange salutations all night long.

"I didn't catch your name..." Kith remarked casually, throwing what seemed to be the first innuendo in a series of stupidly secretive sentences.

"That's because he didn't say it." Bakura dryly answered, before Marik even had the chance to open his mouth. Bakura delightedly watched as Kith's eyes narrowed to impossibly thin slits, as though trying to spit venom from inside.

Marik, sensing the tension rising between the albino and Kith, took it as his responsibility to placate the situation that Bakura's thoughtless words had provoked.

"Namu." The tanned boy quickly lied, before Bakura insulted Kith in a different way "My name's Namu." For a moment, he feared Kith would come up with some witty line like 'That name got a surname, boy?', in order to learn Marik's family name.

Kith immediately turned to the blond, briefly forgetting about Bakura, who continued watching the Bandit like a defiant child who was trying to anger his parents- in this case, Kith.

"Well enough, Namu." Kith rolled the name in his mouth appreciatively, as though savoring the taste of a new victim in his schemes. From the side, Serenity and the others watched the interaction nervously, trying not to look too interested but not too ignorant either. Tea was doing the best job so far.

"So…what can I do for you, Namu?" Kith asked in his sleazy way. Absently, Bakura noticed there were no traces of the bad grammar he had used before. Perhaps he could actually be serious when doing business…

Marik grinned. Finally. They were coming to the subject. Judging by his earlier reaction, Kith was obviously uncomfortable with the subject of Ishrat. Therefore, Marik would move on to the next important topic- the most pressing one of all. The ID Cards.

"Word tells me you're the hottest dealer around right now, Bandit Kith" Marik quickly lapsed into his not-so-promising street talk. Nevertheless, Kith did seem pleased by the fact that Marik talked like him, unlike most cowering idiots who came shaking in front of him, asking for favors.

"I try." Kith said smugly, not quite succeeding in giving the reserved impression he wanted. It was obvious the man was downright a sucker for compliments. Marik was especially pleased by this, since coaxing people was his personal highlight.

"So, Kith. Me and my boys have just come to town and we need cards for the upper levels." Said Marik in his gangster voice, deliberately leaving Serenity and the others out of the whole situation, so they wouldn't be in danger in case it didn't work out.

"Whoa whoa!" Kith chuckled, throwing his hands in front of his face in mock defense. Bakura narrowed his eyes at Kith's amusement. What the heck was so funny?

"Sow down there, boy! You're gonna blow my head off! Cards? Cards? What kinda jerk told you can buy cards just for a fling?" Kith amusedly said. At his words, Tristan huffed somewhere in the back. He had told them that they couldn't buy cards, but Kith couldn't know that, of course.

Marik exchanged looks with Bakura, then turned back to Kith.

"I know it ailn't easy. That's why I came to you. Because they told me you're the best. And I need the best, Kith." Marik now used his slightly threatening tone, insinuating lightly that he could always go to another dealer. It was a method Marik knew well: when in doubt, convince them you've got some kind of advantage over them, even if you blatantly don't. That was it. He would convince Kith that Namu was a full-fledged, serious criminal. That way, trust would be ensured.

Kith seemed to be sizing the situation up in his pea-sized brain, until he finally came to a conclusion. "You're serious about this aren't you?" Kith asked in an obviously incredulous tone.

"Do I seem less than serious to you?" Marik inquired with that same amount of stealthy superiority. Bakura grinned. Marik was such a good actor...it made him even more desirable!

Kith chose that moment to actually consider Marik's request "How many cards are we talking about?

Marik knew there were five people in their group, but Serenity already had a card, so that would make the needed cards four. "Four. By tomorrow." He told a positively stunned Kith, who started laughing at Marik's face the moment the boy finished his sentence.

"You're kiddin' right? Nobody can get you four cards so soon." Kith said it as though it should have been obvious.

Marik grinned slightly "Oh, I believe that with the proper payment, anything's impossible. Right Baku?" he bluffed, using a fake name for Bakura also. He looked into Bakura's fearless ruby eyes and smiled. Both Bakura and he knew that they had absolutely no money whatsoever- truth is, they were utterly penniless, in every meaning of the term.

Kith, however, seemed to take the bait flawlessly, since he raised an eyebrow and licked his lips in the manner of a hungry reptile eyeing a rat. "Kid, come with me." Kith said as he suddenly stood up, motioning with his hand for Marik to follow him. Marik and Bakura exchanged suspicious glances yet again. Marik then turned to Serenity and shrugged at her inquiring glance. Then, he followed Kith in order not to raise suspicions, with Bakura faithfully beside him, of course.

Kith walked to the back of the room and opened a dark doorway they hadn't noticed before. They remained silent as he led them down a long corridor. When they reached another door, he produced a key from the pocket of his ridiculous furry coat and unlocked it. Bakura inadvertently saw something glinting suspiciously in Kith's pocket, but didn't comment on it. Was that a gun?

"Come in." Kith hosted them in a small empty room and closed the door behind them. Marik immediately turned when he heard the thud of the door closing, leaving Bakura to take his time observing their surroundings.

Kith looked positively ravenous by now. "Here we can talk a bit more privately about our exchanges. Have you any idea how much what you're asking costs?"

Marik amusedly thought he had not once spoken the word 'money' yet here Kith was, talking about it as if it was automatically insinuated.

"We have enough." Marik reassured him calmly, feeling Bakura come and stand right next to him.

Bandit Kith narrowed his eyes in distrust "And why should I trust you? Do you have it with you?"

Marik thought it unwise to completely reject the possibility that he had money on him. He wanted to keep this little game going for as long as possible.

"Chill, Kith" Marik amusedly said, enjoying having the advantage of being calmer than Kith "why the rush?"

Kith smirked easily "Income is always welcome, now that business with drugs is running low." He said "If you have the cash ready, we can trade even now."

At this last sentence, Marik's eyes widened imperceptibly. Did Kith actually have the cards on him right now? They were alone in a room, and Kith had the cards? They were two against one…they could take him down. Bakura seemed to think the same thing, since he asked "How can we trust you not to give us fake cards?"

Kith grinned "The same way I know you ailn't giving me no fake cash. That's the risk, gentlemen. Deal with it."

Marik smirked ironically for a moment. He really wished Kith's cards weren't as non-existent as their money.

"Gimme a moment to confer with my partner, and I'll be right back witcha." Marik said and tugged on Bakura's sleeve.

"Sure man" Kith said, as he lighted a cigarette and turned away to study a trophy hanging on the wall "take your time."

Marik pulled Bakura on the side and they both leaned in to talk confidentially.

"We can take him" was the first thing Marik said to a pensive Bakura "We're two and he is one. If he really has the cards, it'll be easy to knock him out, then get the hell outa here!" Marik whispered, pulling Bakura closer, in order to prevent Kith from eavesdropping.

Bakura looked unusually skeptical for something that had to do with violence. "No" he said finally, startling Marik "we can't. He's got a gun- laser by the looks of it. Too risky."

Marik stared at him "Oh come on, Bakura! As if that's ever stopped us before!" he whined.

But Bakura shook his head firmly "No." he repeated "We can't afford being suspected by people around here. We mustn't hurt him…There must be another---ah!"

"Bakura? Bakura what's wrong!"

Suddenly, Bakura groaned and seemed to lose his balance. He started swaying on his feet, and Marik had to support him by the shoulders in order to keep him steady. He clammed his hand over Bakura's mouth in order to keep his groans from being heard by Kith. Bakura stiffened momentarily and opened his eyes blearily, only to rub at them dizzily.

"What the heck just happened?" Marik worriedly demanded, looking anxiously at Bakura's face.

"Don't…don't worry…" Bakura whispered, much too weakly for Marik's comfort. The tanned boy gave him an inquiring look, asking for explanations "It's just that…even though I can take over Ryou's body, it absorbs a lot of energy…Meanwhile, I'm also keeping Ryou's mind in a coma, so I'm losing strength from there too…I can't sustain myself in this body for much longer…soon I'll have to return to the ring, in order to regain my power!"

It came as a slap to the face- the sudden reminder of Bakura's inhumanity. Bakura wasn't human. No matter how much Marik wanted to believe it, he just wasn't! He wasn't, damnit! Why did it have to be this way? Why, of all the people in the universe, did Marik have to find an Undead to…to care,about…?

"Bakura…can't you keep it up for a little longer…just a little longer…" Marik practically begged, losing all ounces of sense control. Bakura's blood eyes turned to him slowly- to say Bakura looked happy that someone had asked him to stay would be an understatement. Then, suddenly, it hit Marik like an asteroid.

"Oh shit! Bakura can't you see?" he whispered wildly "This is it!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at a complete loss "Huh?" he unintelligently asked.

Marik rushed to explain animatedly "This is it! Didn't you once tell me that you can control anyone, as long as that person has the ring?"

"Yeees" Bakura said slowly, trying to follow Marik's trail of thought "So?"

Marik looked stunned that Bakura hadn't figured it out yet "So! This is the way we'll get Kith. If we can give him the ring, you'll be able to enter his body and use it to give me the cards!"

Bakura's eyes widened "Are you serious? I've never tried that before with so little energy! What if I can't make it! And I mean…Kith? That's disgusting!"

Marik rolled his eyes "Just try, Bakura. Don't waste any more energy. Return to your ring now, and have Ryou control the body. Once I give the ring to Kith, take over his body and we can go from there!"

Bakura nodded to himself "This can actually work!" he said in marvel.

"Of course it can!" Marik boasted "I'm the smartest there is, remember?"

"Oh please!" Bakura muttered, then looked at Marik condescendingly "Don't forget about me in the ring, okay?"

Marik rolled his eyes "How can I forget you in the expanse of five minutes?" he asked, but then realized it was quite endearing that Bakura had asked him to retain his affection for him. It made him proud to know that Bakura sought his trust to such degree. Marik worried he might insult Bakura's softly exposed feelings, however, so he rushed to amend it "I wouldn't be able to forget you even if I wanted to, you bat." He said, giving Bakura the reassurance he wanted.

"Fine. I'm letting Ryou out now." Bakura said with a scowl, supposedly angry at being called a bat. But Marik could see the faint glow in the albino's eyes and the soft upturning that threatened to twist his lips into a genuine smile.

Then, suddenly, almost painfully suddenly, Bakura's eyes fogged up and smoke surrounded his entire body. It was a sight that only a select few could see, and Marik cherished the fact that he was one of them. When Bakura opened his eyes again, they weren't red. They were mahogany brown.

Ryou blinked ignorantly up at him, totally lost. After all, he had lost a great part of the evening and now he didn't know where on Earth he was. He was willing to ignore the fact that the last time he was conscious he had almost witnessed Bakura and Marik doing some unmentionable things, for the sake of finding out what the heck was happening.

"Where am I?" Ryou said loudly, not knowing he had to keep his voice low. Marik immediately clamped a hand over his mouth to silence him, then leaned in to talk to him.

"Listen Ryou, I know it all seems totally confusing right now, but trust me, it will make perfect sense later. I need you to do something, all right? There's this guy waiting for us to talk to him right now…"

Ryou's eyes slipped to glance at the distracted Kith across the room. He nodded to signify his understanding.

"We have to make a deal with this guy, but we can't do it unless Bakura takes over his body." Marik briefly explained, watching Ryou's eyes widen in surprise.

'That's not making a deal!' Ryou wanted to say 'That's even worse than black mailing him!' but, as always, he held it in for the sake of diplomatic solutions. He nodded again.

"When I tell you to give him your golden ring, you must give it to him. Understand? Don't say anything. Just give him the ring!" Marik concluded. His somewhat worried tone let Ryou understand how important this situation was.

He nodded again, one last time, before Marik took his hand away from his mouth.

"Kith!" Marik shouted, still looking meaningfully at Ryou "We're ready!"

Kith was instantly close to them, watching them curiously. Ryou looked at the newcomer in a confused but certainly unappreciative way. Whoever this man dressed like a lantern was, he wanted nothing to do with him.

"Finally!" Kith complained "Took you long enough!"

Marik shrugged "Well, you know how it is with this things…You gotta be sure where you're investing your money, right?"

"I know just what you mean, pal." Kith said as he put an arm around Marik's shoulders, taking a few steps with the boy. Ryou quietly moved to Marik's other side, watching them both silently and hating Kith more and more with each passing moment. For some reason, Kith reminded him eerily of Kaiba. "Just curious, but what's your business with Ishrat?" Kith asked a surprised Marik.

"Hey…" Marik shrugged Kith's hand of his shoulder and spun to face the other man "Our business is our own. You just give us the cards and don't ask any more questions, al'right?" Marik really hoped he'd pulled that gangster image well enough. By the look on Kith's face, he obviously had.

"Fair enough. So, about the cards, what's it gonna be?" Kith asked "Winner of loser?"

Marik grinned, easily recognizing a good opportunity when he saw one. "Deal, Kith. We'll give you the money now…"

A wide, satisfied grin broke out on Kith's face while Ryou just mutely stared from the sidelines "Great! That's great news, boys! So, where is the money?"

Subtle, wasn't he? Marik smirked at the ironic thought. Then, he finally started implementing his plan "The money will come in due time, Kith. But first, I want to give you something personal, as a token of my gratitude."

Kith visibly stiffened, his hand automatically slipping in his pocket to grab his gun no doubt. So Bakura was right, after all about the laser. Hm…

"And what would that be?" Kith inquired, with no small amount of suspicion.

Marik amiably laughed and flung his hands in the air openly, as a gesture of good will "Oh don't worry, pal! It's just this little trinket we found washed up in some street around here and we've been trying to get rid of it since then. We thought maybe we could sell it to a dealer like you. Care to take a look at it?"

Kith seemed more relaxed, but he didn't take his hand out of his pocket "Depends on what it's worth…"

Marik grinned, knowing where Kith was getting at exactly ' Gold, my friend. Solid gold."

He watched the avarice twist Kith's features in an eager grin. He smirked. "Then let's see this mystery trinket of yours…" he said.

"Baku, give him the ring." Marik told Ryou, trying to keep the blind triumph from showing in his face. After all, it wasn't over until Bakura had taken over Kith's body. Ryou, being the silent ignorant that he was, thought it wise to obey his friend's instructions. He was unwilling to let go of his precious ring, of course, but since he saw that the situation called for extreme measures…

Kith watched with no small amount of interest as Ryou reached to the leather string that was tied around his neck and pulled it up, to reveal what was tucked under his shirt. Kith greedily observed the shining yellow quality of unmistakable gold. His hold on his hidden gun finally released and he took a step towards Ryou, who now stood holding is ring thoughtfully.

He didn't want to let go of it. He _really_ didn't want to let go of it. Not when Bakura- his other self –was still inside it. And however unwilling Ryou was to admit it, he didn't want to separate with Bakura…it felt empty without Bakura in his conscience, no matter how annoying he was. Bakura was considered his other self, after all, after all those years of symbiosis.

Ritualistically, Ryou raised the ring to Kith's eager hands, and the man lost no time in grabbing it, watching it glitter through his sunglasses. Once Marik saw the ring pass from one man to the other, he couldn't help the victorious smile from morphing on his face. He watched, a wild happiness in his eyes and a startled agony in Ryou's as Bandit Kith suddenly gasped, and tightened his hold on the ring as though in pain.

They saw smoky mist forming a tornado around Kith's body, and when it finally dissolved, they took a good look at the new Bandit Kith. Slightly taller than before, wit shoulder's just a little wider and rippling muscles showing through his furry coat. His now wild, unruly short blonde hair fanned around his head.

Marik chuckled bluntly, sharply, as he rushed towards Kith. He saw the ex-Bandit take the sunglasses from his face and drop them to the floor calmly, crushing them with a boot-clad foot.

Marik smiled. Kith's r_ed_ eyes were smiling back at him.

"Stupid fucker. How can he walk around in all this? All this fur weighs a ton. " Kith, or rather, Bakura complained.

"Ya-Yami?" Ryou gasped, unbelieving, as he watched Kith take the rings and chains off his body and throw them carelessly away, muttering curses as he did.

"Oh, great, Brightside. Now that you're here, you can help me take these boots off." Bakura calmly stated, his deep voice taking an entirely different dimension when used through Kith's vocal cords.

"Do you have enough energy now?" Marik asked quickly, helping Bakura take his furry coat off while Ryou was too busy staring at the commotion to speak.

"We need to hurry, I can't hold on for much longer…Quickly, search the pockets!" Bakura said hurriedly, shoving his hand down one of the coat's pockets. He took out the laser gun, some spare jewelry that Kith carried around, a few cigars, card keys for hovercrafts and Kith's house, but no ID Cards.

"You don't suppose he didn't have the cards with him either, do you?" Marik anxiously asked, searching another pocket and retrieving an…unidentified disgusting object.

"I don't think so…Maybe- hey wait a second!" Bakura suddenly exclaimed, making the others look at him curiously "I feel something weird." Bakura said.

Unexpectedly, he shoved his hand down his pants, letting it crawl to his thigh. A wide-eyed Marik and a grinning Ryou observed the situation, as Bakura suddenly gasped.

"I don't believe this guy!" Kith-Bakura said suddenly, and took hold of Kith's belt, starting to loosen it.

"Bakura! What the heck are you doing! This isn't a good time for this, man!" Marik shouted, for lack of anything better to do, since he was stuck with a stripping Bakura in a small, dark room. They needed to find the cards _now_! They had no time for…uh…games!

"No, wait!" Bakura said, and finally lowered his pants to the height of his knees "Look at this!" he pointed at the string of cloth that was tied around Kith's left thigh. Along with that strip of cloth, there were six see-through top ID cards tied around the man's leg.

Ryou promptly started guffawing.

"I can't believe he put them _there_!" Marik wailed, starting to pry the ID cards from their safe haven with the assistance of Bakura.

"Be glad they weren't in his crotch. I wouldn't have reached in there." Bakura said with finality, as he cursed at Ryou for laughing at him during a time of weakness. Marik joined in the laughing and Bakura cursed doubly.

" Okay! I got the cards! Let's go!" Marik said and made a move as though to run outside, but then paused suddenly "Oh no! We have to get Kith back to normal so that nobody will suspect anything!"

"Don't worry" Bakura dryly said "No one will miss the bastard!"

Marik sighed "That doesn't change the fact that we need him to look normal when we go out there, in order not to raise suspicion. At least until we leave this place!"

"Oh my GOD!" Ryou shouted suddenly, pointing at Kith's, or rather, Bakura's boxers "Are these red little hearts on your boxers or is it just me?" and that raised another string of frantic, uncontrolled, hysterical guffawing both from Ryou's and Marik's part, while a flushed Bakura –who refused to acknowledge that he was blushing- rushed to cover up the embarrassing underpants.

Once Bakura had managed to resume Kith's original appearance- save the sunglasses- they all ran out the door. As fast as they could, in hopes of saving some energy for Bakura, they rushed down the corridor. Once they reached the room where the rest of their friends were left, an onslaught of people pounced on Bakura, wanting to talk to Bandit Kith.

Marik tried to get to Bakura, but Bandit Kith's cronies were blocking him from approaching the spirit. Bakura non-too-politely shoved the prissy girls away from him and took a few strides towards Ryou and Serenity.

"Didn't you say you wanted to show us something outside the club, Bandit Kith?" Marik meaningfully asked, sending a look to Kith-Bakura.

"Is it true, boss?" a bodyguard from Kith's left asked the blonde Bandit, and Kith, looking a little flustered and annoyed, glared at him.

"Don't question my motives, you insignificant little punk." Kith told the bodyguard, earning a strange look.

"Are you sure you're okay, boss? You sound a little weird…"the bodyguard said, but shut up immediately when he recognized the homicidal look on Kith's face.

"Shut your trap, you fool, and follow me outside. Mariku, we're leaving." Kith-Bakura declared, wanting to take the bodyguard outside with him in order not to raise suspicion about his sudden change in conduct. Marik bit his lip and whole-heartedly hoped the bodyguards hadn't noticed that Kith had called him 'Marik' instead of 'Namu'..

The others, ignorant about Bakura being in Kith's body, were majorly confused by what Kith was asking them to do..nevertheless, fortunately for Marik, they did not question him and followed the orders.

Bakura did a flawless imitation of the real Kith's smug grin, as he approached the door that led to the main club. From behind him, his bodyguards faithfully followed. Marik, Ryou and their friends remained silent as they repeated their passing through the dance-floor and to the exit of the club. Needless to say, Ryou was a little more than plain shocked when he realized he was in a place he had never remembered going to. Then again, it was a usual occurrence these days, wasn't it?

For a moment, Ryou wondered why Serenity seemed to be avoiding him, but then he remembered Bakura was in control of his body before, so she might think he was still Bakura. Hesitantly, experimentally, Ryou put his arm around her waist, and she turned surprised eyes to stare at him. He smiled at her brightly, watching her eyes widen and glisten with happiness. Well, perhaps she had missed him as much as he had missed her.

He gave her a small peck on the lips and she beamed at him, stretching her hand across his back. She certainly felt content with Ryou's arms around her as they walked through the club, having a small, unwanted feeling of triumph. Finally, things were normal again. The body of her beloved one was finally used by its rightful owner, and the arms she adored so much were warming _her_, not somebody else.

Kith walked out of the club, giving the macho entrance guard a curt nod. He simply stood outside the club, waiting for Marik and all his friends to come out. Once Marik readily turned to talk to him, always wary of the guards around, Kith took it as his queue to speak.

"Well, I believe it's time to return your gift to you." Kith said, with a dark smile. Marik mirrored the expression completely.

"Of course, Kith, it's always a pleasure doing business with you." Marik drawled amiably, not failing to detect the incredible irony of the situation and his words.

"The boss is acting really weird, huh? Besides, his eyes look a little red…maybe it's the lighting or something…" one of the guards said to another and they both nodded thoughtfully in agreement to the statement.

None of the guards was watching Kith's face, however, since they were all gathered behind his back. Marik, who was face to face with the Bandit, watched in wonderment as Kith's red eyes started glowing brightly, like two fireballs in a storm.

Kith seemed to be in a trance-like state, as though not exactly in control of his actions. Bakura wasn't in total control of the body, obviously, so one could only assume he was controlling Kith's mind through the ring.

With glowing red eyes, Kith reached in his shirt and took out the glowing golden ring. Marik smiled almost maniacally as he looked at it.

Mutely, still in that trance-like state, Kith gave Marik the ring, surrendering it in the eagerly stretched tanned palms. Once Marik took hold of the ring, he felt its strange warmth heat his fingers and smiled.

"Thank you, Kith…I hope we have the pleasure of doing business with you again." He said calmly, pressing the ring against his side. Had one been looking at Ryou at that moment, they would have seen the albino's worried eyes fixed solely on his ring, which Marik was now tucking safely in his pocket. Curiously, Marik's hand didn't leave his pocket, but remained clasped around the ring.

Kith didn't speak, just nodded numbly, his glowing eyes slowly losing their shine and turning back to bleak blue- their original color. Marik was worried- he wanted to tell Bakura not to let Kith go yet- not when Kith could still recognize them. But Kith didn't see to come to his senses at all.

Instead, the blond dealer started making guttural chocking sounds. His eyes didn't seem to move in accordance with each other and his limbs were flailing around frantically. Marik took a step back, looking wide-eyed at the lunatic in front of him.

The guards were alerted immediately. They ran to their employer's side quickly, supporting him and trying to get him to talk through his retching. Seeing the commotion going downhill from there, Marik back stepped, colliding with an aghast Ryou, who was standing a few feet behind him.

"Let's get the heck out of here!" Yugi suddenly said, grabbing Tea 's hand and urging her stunned body away. Mai, Tristan and Duke mimicked Yugi's movements.

"Hey, you! Wait a minute!" a guard shouted when he noticed they were starting to run. Seeing this was their escape route, Marik swiftly turned to the others.

"Run!" he shouted, and implemented his order by sprinting down the street, with Ryou and Serenity hot on his trail. Shouts from the guards could be heard on the back, as Kith's friends started chasing him no doubt. Marik stalled a little, wanting to be at the back of the group in order to observe the situation better.

'Damnit!' Marik thought while he ran feverishly, taking a turn at a deserted alley on the right along with the others 'What did Bakura do to Kith?'

_I had to fry his brain. I couldn't allow him to come back to normal- he had already seen too much. _

Marik stopped dead in his tracks. A frigid angst climbed into his heart, as he felt a wave of amusement hit him from somewhere…somewhere…but not his own heart. Why was he feeling someone else's emotions…? And what was that voice in his mind? It sounded unfamiliar…almost…electronic.

'Bakura?' he thought privately, immediately looking down to stare at the ring in his pocket. Its pretty golden spikes clung melodically with each of Marik's movements. It looked innocent enough…

_/ The one who bears the ring is open to my control, Marik…Remember/ _

The voice…Bakura's voice, electronic and hazy in his mind. Was that Bakura's real voice? Why did it sound as though it was projected out of a computer?

_/ Run, you idiot! They're still after you/_ / Bakura suddenly roared from his mind, making Marik wince and look behind him. He was still trying to recover from the shock when he saw Kith's guards running towards him.

He started running towards the direction his friends had disappeared to, quickly catching up to them.

'Why on earth did you have to make Kith a vegetable? As if we didn't have enough problems already…' Marik complained telepathically.

_/ It's permanent. Kith won't be recovering anytime soon. /_ Bakura said in the satisfied manner of a cat which has just caught a disturbingly evasive mouse. Marik grinned at Bakura's glee in spite of himself, as he ran around another corner and stood rigid with his friends, stretching his ears to detect any sounds of guards chasing them. No sign. They were safe, for now.

Marik's friends started talking animatedly to each other, talking about how frightened they were and how they'd believed it was the end of their lives…But Marik stood alone, leaning on a dirty alley wall, staring at the ground. If only he could see his own face…he'd then recognize the dazed look he always saw on Ryou's face when the albino was talking to Bakura telepathically.

'I thought we'd never make it…' Marik admitted quietly, in a way that revealed he still couldn't register they had made it.

_/ You owe me one, pretty boy. /_ Bakura said teasingly, and Marik could feel the comfort of Bakura's presence warm his heart. He sighed in bliss, savoring the rarity of being so very close to the one he craved- Bakura was under his skin. If Ryou had this advantage 24/7, then Ryou didn't even know how lucky he was.

Oops. Bakura hadn't detected that thought. Had he?

Marik was about to speak again telepathically, when he felt something shake his shoulder- something like an exterior presence. He vaguely registered Bakura's sheer annoyance at the interruption.

Marik turned dizzily to his left, only to see a strange-looking Ryou shaking his shoulder. There was some alien feeling –something akin to jealousy, yet understanding- in the albino's eyes.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Marik asked an apologetic Ryou.

"Um…." The reserved man started, looking pointedly at Marik's pocket where the ring rested "I asked if I could have my ring back, please." He finished finally.

_/ Ahh…Brightside…always so polite. It's sickening. /_ Bakura said his customary scathing comment. Marik smiled in amusement and felt Bakura's thrill at having succeeded in making him laugh. Bakura was really such a child, deep down –so cautious with his uncharted feelings—that it was truly sweet. Marik knew better than to believe all that crap about 'the Brightside' and 'the Darkside'. The truth was, Bakura and Ryou were two separate people in one body. It wasn't as though Ryou had all the good parts and Bakura had all the bad characteristics. They were just different people- different personalities, which, by some sullen twist of fate, had been squeezed together in one white-haired carcass. Whether the albino body's mouth sneered or smiled innocently depended solely on the person who was wielding it…

Marik knew Bakura and Ryou were different people. He had to know, because no matter what a pleasant guy Ryou was…Marik would have never felt for him what he felt for his spirit counterpart.

Upon seeing Ryou's expectant gaze, Marik remembered he was supposed to give a response. Nodding, he reached to his belt and started taking the ring out of his pocket.

He tried to ignore the compelling urge to keep Bakura's ring for his own- to keep Bakura with him forever and gain what he had always been jealous of. But, after all, he knew that Bakura's ring belonged around Ryou's neck and nowhere else. Everyone had connected the dark spirit with the angelic albino's face. A demon in an angel's body. Heaven's devil. Ryou's Bakura.

Slowly, trying not to look too reluctant, Marik gave Ryou his precious ring back. He let out a sigh when he felt the brilliant energy of Bakura's presence leave his body. Ryou looked deeply relieved when he pulled the ring over his neck again. He smiled at Marik and the tanned boy smiled back with all the sincerity he could muster

"You really do want him in your body, don't you? No matter what you say…" Marik asked Ryou quietly, as though resigned to his fate on never achieving the special bond that Ryou had with Bakura. But then again…maybe Marik's bond with Bakura could be a little different…

Ryou smiled softly and stared at the ring now resting in his hands. The golden ornament glowed softly. "Bakura and I are one and the same, no matter who wears the ring…" Ryou simply said, not really discarding Marik's question, but not fully answering either.

Ryou softly patted the surface of the ring, and Marik looked at him awkwardly.

"Rest, Darkness. You're home now." Ryou said quietly, and Marik finally understood that Bakura must be recovering his powers. It all made perfect sense, suddenly.

Though Bakura was in his ring while he was with Marik, he wouldn't rest. Now, finally in Ryou's grasp, Bakura could finally let go and relax…even ancient spirits had a home, it seemed…A home where a family was waiting for them- in Bakura's case, where Ryou was waiting. Ryou, who was, for Bakura, a mother, a father, a sibling and a friend. Ryou's body, which was Bakura's solitary sanctuary.

It all clicked together: why Ryou didn't complain about being manipulated when Bakura used his body. No matter what people thought or what Ryou said, Ryou and Bakura had made an unspoken pact: to share the body and understand each other. Ryou might not be in agreement with Bakura's motives and he might not give up his body willingly, but he never threw the ring away. (2) He never voluntarily tried to get rid of Bakura…

Marik was blinded, suddenly, by the moving intensity of this brotherhood. It was crystal clear now: Ryou loved Bakura. And Bakura loved Ryou. It didn't make Marik half as angry as he thought it would, somehow. And he knew that though Serenity was uncomfortable with Bakura's use of Ryou's body, she would immediately understand too, if she could look in Bakura's heart and see the small child sitting there, blinking tearfully, waiting to be loved.

She wouldn't be angry either, had she known her beloved loved Bakura like a part of himself- like a brother, or even a son. Because that's what a family is. You don't select it, you just have it, and love it for what it is.

"We should go back to my house." Mai's voice was heard loud and clear.

"Yes!" Marik nodded at once. He reached into his pocket and drew out the ID cards. At the surprised gasps of his friends, he smirked "I told you I'd get them."

"But…but how!" Tristan spluttered form beside an incredulous Duke.

Marik smiled once more "I'll tell you once we reach Mai's house. For now, I just want to sleep."

Half-hearted nods of agreement came form everyone as they set out for the long walk to Mai's house. This place really was prehistoric- they actually had to walk! Then again, they couldn't really use a hovercraft, since they would draw too much attention.

Marik smirked at that thought. Right. As if they hadn't pulled enough attention already, what with the Bandit Kith fiasco and all.

He made small talk with Ryou and Serenity as they walked. The albino had his arm wrapped protectively around Serenity's back, and the girl looked happier than Marik had seen her in a while.

Oh great. Now he felt bad for wishing Bakura could take over Ryou's body again.

Well, this was Marik's life. A series of confused flashbacks and unrequited desires for something he could never have.

Time to push such disorientating thoughts aside. Marik looked down at his palm, which had the long-craved see-through ID locator cards.

Soon. Soon, when they'd reach Mai's house, he'd tell everyone their plan to get to the upper levels. He'd explain how they would break in Ishrat's house and find Joey.

Tomorrow was the day. The day they would hopefully find Joey and solve some of the mysteries that had been killing them all this time.

Tomorrow was the day. The day the answers would come.

**(1): **this is a real line from the dubbed YGO series (one of the two dubbed episodes I've ever seen). At the top of the Alcatraz tower in the BATTLE CITY arc, the dialogue goes like this exactly:

Kaiba: …so get out of here, coz in one hour, this tower will explode!

Joey and Duke: What! No!

Tristan: You're kidding right? Please say yes!

Kaiba: (baritone) I don't kid.

**(2): **notice that in YGO, Ryou is always saying that he doesn't want a cursed spirit in his body and that he'd rather die than be Bakura's puppet, but he never actually throws the ring away on his own volition. Tristan throws the ring away at some point, but it is magically returned to Ryou. Then, at some other point, Marik steals the ring, but it's returned to Bakura again, eventually. Notice that even though Ryou hates Bakura, he never throws the ring away on his own. It doesn't matter whether Bakura would return or not – what we care to notice is that Ryou _doesn't even try_ to throw the ring away on his own.

**A/n: Oh dear…things are getting serious…I don't know when I'll post the next chapter, but I'll try my best! Until then, plz review! PLZ with a cherry on top!**


	16. The Village of the Dead

**OMG, guys, I'm so sorry! Really, I am! I didn't mean to pause my updating for SSOO long! Honestly –puts her hand over her heart and pouts- please don't hate me. It's been over 2 months since last I updated, and now I'm sure no one will want to read the rest of my story. Everyone's probably given up on me---sniff sniff…**

**I noticed that people who don't like YAOI have read this story and liked it. Well, for all of those reviewers I especially appreciate, I promise you that once I'm done with this story, I'll post another one with the same title, only NON-YAOI. So please, be patient with me and grit your teeth while reading YAOI! I promise it'll be worth it in the end.**

**Special thanks to everyone that reviewed.**

**V son sayian, thanks for sticking with the story.**

**Tramontana, have fun in Italy!** **What else can I say? Only that I'll send Marik to give you a thousand kisses. Is that okay?**

**Gelap Gelita, your review literally MADE MY DAY! Luv ya! I'm sorry you don't like yaoi, but I hope you stick with m until the end! Seriously though, I adored your review! You live in Gt.Britain? Wow, I've been there, like, a hundred times (my aunt lives there)**

**Uber-Rei model, thankyou for EVERYTHING you have EVER said for me. I know you must hate me by now for not updating Nemesis, but I assure you I haven't forgotten. I really hate myselffor not updating, but I love you for reviewing none the less.**

**Anime-fan-Meepa: I'm so sorry if I really made you cry in the previous chapter, but I'm sure this time you'll be less emotional! I LOVED your review!(I love long reviews, in general, even if people just digress!) Every time you review, I'm, like cackling on my seat, reading it over and over again from beginning to end! Plz don't forget me!**

**Rapturous voice, **

**Anubia, **

**Aseria, **

**Lily of the Shadow….**

**I LOVE YOU GUYS! HONESTLY!Even if you hate me and never review again, due to my late updates, I'll still love you for your good words.**

Whether it was Mai's anxious warnings that going to the upper levels meant serious trouble, or the ominous instinct that made butterflies fly in his gut, Marik didn't know. What he did know, however, was that he suddenly, unexpectedly, unpleasantly felt unusually iffy, glancing nervously to his side, where Serena was walking steadily, looking forward.

Marik pulled his eyes back to the ground and once again let his handsome features form that skeptical frown. The butterflies in his stomach were now soaring. The frenzied fright almost hurt him.

But it was no use being scared and trying not to show it, since it was now too late. Even though all of them were officially terrified, they couldn't back out now- not when they were half-way there. After getting directions from Mai about where the access to the upper-levels was and how they could use their cards- things that Serenity didn't know- Marik, Ryou, Serenity, Yugi and Tea had started their quest for answers, leaving their other friends behind.

First they'd had to enter the upper levels of the city, where the crème-de-la-crème of the decadent earthian society lived. Following Mai's directions, it had been fairly easy: turn right here, take a lift there, watch out for a CyberCop there and voila! The gates to the "B level"- the level where top executives live…including Ishrat. They had encountered no serious problems until now, except maybe the consistent feeling of being a fish out of the water. But now…now that they had actually reached the B level…now they felt really nervous.

People- apparently rich people- walked around dressed as gothic deranged lunatics. In the streets, men and women could be seen drinking, smoking, laughing, injecting themselves with who knows what, and, evidently, inducing themselves with every kind of orgy imaginable.

Marik was a big boy by now. He could handle situations like this. He'd had the talk about the birds and the bees already…hell, most of the time, he even used seduction to his advantage…but this? This was another story- totally out of proportion. This was like some prank gone awry, as if one enters another world all together, where night clubs are everywhere in the thick horizon and brothel interiors lie in common view.

Is this where the elite executives lived? Could there be actual houses in this level, apart from chaotic crowds, robot-prostitutes, goth-clad vampire wannabes and every other disgusting junkie the human mind can ever conjure! So this was rich life…Way to go.

Marik suspected he looked ridiculous in his incognito suit. Apparently, in this notorious "B level", in order to pass as "normal" one had to look flamboyant. Marik had never in his wildest dreams fathomed that he would deliberately dress up as a punk manslut in order to pass unnoticed. At least he drew some comfort from the fact that all his friends were dressed in a similar way. Serenity, especially, looked ridiculous in her shiny pleather pants, stiletto high boots and red, asphyxiating tank top. Marik also noticed the leather leash added to her belt as an accessory. God, was that awful! It was like seeing a cat with the ears of a rabbit.

Not to mention Ryou and Yugi, equally uncomfortable, who were dressed up as though preparing to attend a satanistic blood ritual. Blood rituals. Ha! Good one, Marik. Bakura had probably already attended a fair share of those in the past.

And speaking of Bakura, Marik was happy to finally be able to focus on something other than the albino spirit for a change. Due to extreme fatigue, Bakura was apparently lethargically resting in Ryou's ring. On the one hand, Marik regretted not hearing the dozens of sarcastic remarks Bakura would surely have to provide for this place; but on the other hand, the tanned man didn't really want to see Bakura after he'd settled in his mind what all these feelings meant and why he was so confused.

"Just stay close…don't fall apart" Marik warned silently, but realized that it was highly unlikely that any of their party get lost, since they all seemed to be sticking to each other like leeches, Marik included. Marik inwardly laughed, noticing Tea's absolutely horrified face and Yugi's attempts at placating her, but failing miserably, since he was also scared out of his wits. And it showed.

Marik quickly scanned the area while trying to confidently saunter forwards, in order not to raise suspicion. He was looking for someone even remotely logical-looking in order to ask for directions to Ishrat's home, when he suddenly heard something from behind him.

"Hey babe, wanna roll?" some greasy, red-haired punk was leering at Serenity, trying to grab the curviest parts of her anatomy. For a moment, Marik thought he should interfere and be the knight in the shining armor, but then he noticed the paranoid gleam in Ryou's eyes and thought better of it.

"Excuse me, sir" the classical gentleman Ryou asked "but would you please decease your socializing with the lady?"

"What the heck?" the guy predictably answered, apparently further vexing Ryou " I ailn't deceasing shit, you punkass bitch! If you wanna decease I suggest you stick that pole even further up your…"

"GENTLEMEN!" Marik rudely interrupted, not very keen on listening to two obviously not very grown men take a go at each other "please…I'm sure my friend meant no harm." Marik quickly added with a raised hand and turned to leave, signaling to the others to follow, when something the redhead goth said made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Ishrat? What the hell are _you_ doin' here?" the suddenly submissive yet sufficiently annoying red-haired brat asked.

Marik froze, causing the ones behind him to also stop. All of them turned around simultaneously.

"What did you call me?" Marik questioned dumbfounded, partially not believing the frenzied voices that were screaming in his head 'What is going on!'

The redhead raised an eyebrow "What, now you're deaf as well as color-blind? Haven't I told ya you should paint your head red, you old fool?"

"Kinda like you, for example?" Tea couldn't help but let slip. When the punk glared at her, she shrunk back and seemed to think better of it.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Dark Yugi suddenly turned to Marik with a full-fledged Game King super glare.

Now Marik shook his head frantically and finally registered what the voices in his head were saying: they were warning signals of being suspected by his friends…He quickly turned to the red-haired stranger and asked him who he was.

"Are you kiddin' me?" the punk shot at the tanned youngster "I thought even you would be smarter than that! So tell me, how did you do it?"

Marik was getting increasingly frustrated with all his questions being left unanswered. Extremely conscious of his friends' suspicious looks, he focused on getting the best out of the situation.

"How did I do what?" Marik questioned with narrowed eyes. The punk waved a hand around as though to casually dismiss him.

"Aw, stop fucking around with me, maaaan…." The guy protested loudly "You know damn well what…The dope…"

At this, Marik's eyes almost shot out of their sockets. "The WHAT?" he dumbly asked, in a manner increasingly unlike his usual.

"What the hell is wrong with you, tonight, Ishrat?" the punk retaliated, frustrated "How could you forget it, when you're the one who called me on the first place 'Be my dealer, Saif, and I'll get you your A level card'! Isn't that what you said? Huh? Huh?"

The situation slowly but steadily started to dawn on Marik. Apparently, he looked a lot like this Ishrat guy, since this Saif was mistaking him for Ishrat. With the engines of his mind working overload, Marik selected the best possible solution to a situation like this. He shoved his hands in his pockets, took on a relaxed pose and started laughing loudly at Saif's scowling face. When he was finished with his obnoxious barking, he turned and said:

"I was…hahaha! I was just fucking with you man…" he wiped nonexistent tears of laughter from his eyes "Fall for it every time!" he took a wild guess.

Saif's eyes narrowed suspiciously for a moment, then widened again as he grinned lightly and took a drag out of his cigarette "Tsk. You sure are in a mood for screwing around, ailn't ya?" he blew away the smoke and pointedly ignored all of Marik's friends, who were staring with a betrayed look at Marik. Honestly, is this how much they trusted him? Even Ryou and Serena!

"So. About the dope." Saif casually reminded.

Acting nonchalant, Marik found his perfect little chance "Sure. I have it. It's in my place."

Saif sighed heavily and frowned "In your place?" he complained "What the heck is the dope doing in your place, Ishrat? The action's on for tonight."

Marik, again acting cool, walked around Saif and assumed what he thought would be an appropriate move. Namely, he lightly slapped Saif's cheek "Chill, dude." He said and walked around the redhead. Ryou was slowly starting to change his mind about Marik's betrayal.

"Just take me to my place and we'll exchange there…never choose the same dealing spot twice, right?" Marik ingeniously asked.

Saif narrowed his eyes "Why does it have to be your place?" he asked "You know this business- never give addresses and specific numbers…Now what the fuck is going on? You trying to set me up, Ishrat?" he inquired in an alarmingly menacing tone "And what's with this posse? Never seen them around here before…"

Marik shook his head mock-dismissively "Lighten up, man…I just need a set of turbo wheels to get me to my place, that's all. I'll give you what we bargained for…As for these guys…you know what I want them for." Now if that wasn't a wild guess, Marik had never taken one. He assumed, however that his above statement could be taken as an insinuation of a group-orgy or something. After all, this place was sick.

"Whatever." Saif said, scowling and then threw his spent cigarette away "Just don't try to fuck with me, Ishrat" he pointed a finger right in front of Marik's nose "Or I'll turn that pretty face of yours into dog crap before you know what hit ya."

"I'd like to see you try, punk." Was heard the unmistakable sneaky baritone, and Marik prayed to all deities known that Bakura was invisible and that only he could hear him, not Saif. That was thankfully the case, since Saif just gave a last threatening look at Marik, as though to let his former statement sink in. He completely ignored Bakura's words and walked away, saying "My hover' s this way. C'mon, I haven't got all god-damn night."

When Marik turned and saw the semi-translucent floating Bakura spirit hovering in front of Yugi, he made the universally familiar death gesture by sliding an index finger across his throat.

'I'll kill you' he mouthed to a hysterically grinning Bakura.

"Too late for that" the Dark spirit smirked, making both Ryou and Game King Yugi roll their eyes. Tea and Serenity, who now knew of the existence of the spirits, thought it better not to question the strange behaviors.

As the group started inconspicuously walking after Saif to the hover that would take them to their answers, the Game King floated out of Yugi's body and next to an equally floating Bakura.

"Honestly, you underhanded barbarian; is there no situation where you can't simply shut your mouth?" the Game royalty remarked, irritated.

Ryou and Marik rolled their eyes when they saw Bakura stick his nose so high in the air that his head looked precarious on his neck. What a stereotyped snobbish stance. "At least I was taught to speak my mind and not shove it all in like a constipated bull that only wakes up when he hears his name."

"Why you…"the Game King looked vicious.

"Excuse me" Bakura stopped in his tracks "but who's the barbarian now? Brightside!" Bakura shouted, in mock-fright "Alas, Brightside! Save me Ryou, from this dimwitted sniveling slug, bent on proving to me how much of a non-man he is! Oh, the woe! The horror!"

Marik was about to start laughing, if not for Bakura's comments than simply because of Dark Yugi's fury-distorted face. But it was not meant to be, since that was the time Saif turned back to them.

"This is it." He said, proudly presenting a shiny, possibly stolen, big red pod. "Hop in. You'll have to tell me the directions, since I don't know the way to your place."

Bakura immediately stopped kidding around, and turned to the now pale-faced Marik. The tanned boy stood, flabbergasted, unbelieving at how he'd managed to forget that little crucial detail. How would he know the directions to Ishrat's home, if he wasn't Ishrat? He had simply supposed Saif already knew where Ishrat lived and he would take them there.

Trying not to show his inner peril, Marik turned a smartly concealed desperate gaze at Bakura, who met his eyes with his put-off expression. Marik started inwardly denying the notion that he was actually looking at Bakura for help. Is that how good of a leader he was? Nobody trusted him and he didn't know what to do without Bakura's help? Great.

"Are you just gonna keep staring at me, or will you get in? Listen, man, I like you and all, but this is getting weird. If you try to set me up, I swear I'll…" Saif started saying, shaking Marik out of his alarmed staring at Bakura.

Marik, utterly annoyed with himself for questioning his self-esteem at a time like this, plastered an annoyed look on his face and started acting confident, knowing it would get him out of the shitty situation, as usual.

"You know you talk to much?" he derisively sneered at Saif and casually sauntered forwards, into the hovercraft "Com'on you guys." He casually told the others, not even waiting for Saif answer and ignoring him completely.

With suspicious and slightly alarmed looks, his friends slowly entered the machine. Ryou jumped in first and reached for Serena, who let him lift her in by the waist. She shakily smiled at him as he let her sit on his lap, in the effort to fit in the small seats. At Tea's prolonged staring at the hovercraft, Saif rolled his eyes.

"You guys really aren't from around here, are you?" the punk asked Ryou with a look that was a bit too suspicious for Marik's taste.

"Lose the tongue and get on, will ya?" Marik said in a fake gangster- tone. Perhaps he had hung out with Kith a bit too much…

Saif did as he was told and got in the hover, settling next to Marik, at the driver's seat. As Saif started the engine, Marik suddenly realized he couldn't see Bakura floating anywhere around. Oh well…Bakura must have just returned to the ring without Marik noticing then…

"So, where to?" Saif asked, somewhat lazily, as he drove into the chaos of the hellish city.

'That's exactly what I'd like to know' Marik unpleasantly thought. He belatedly realized that he didn't know any landscape names on Earth. How the heck would he 'lead' Saif? For now, Marik thought he'd settle on the easy solution.

"Just go straight. I'll tell you when to turn." Marik casually said. Saif seemed satisfied enough with that answer. For now. Marik was all too aware that he would have to tell Saif where to turn sometime soon. Problem was, he had no idea what he was doing.

Looking back nervously towards his friends, he saw Yugi and Tea huddled next to Ryou and Serenity. They were all looking at him with alarmed gazes, as though egging him to do something. If only he knew what.

He realized that he would have to give Saif concrete directions sometime soon, since the man seemed to be getting more suspicious by the moment. What had he gotten himself into, Marik wondered. He had to get them out of there, fast.

"HEY! Ryou, what's wrong with you!" was heard the unmistakable chime of Serenity's protest. Marik and Saif turned backwards simultaneously, only to meet the sight of a homicidal-looking Ryou trying to push his girl off his lap.

"What the-?" Saif started saying, but didn't get a chance to finish his comment, since the blood-eyed and vastly paranoid 'Ryou' had already grabbed his chin, forcing it backwards and making the redhead let go of the steering wheel abruptly.

"Ryou! What are you doing!" Serenity started screaming. Marik honestly wanted to hit her at that point. As if she didn't know of Bakura's existence.

"You're going to get us killed, you idiot!" Dark Yugi barked, fruitlessly trying to prevent Bakura.

"Let him go!" Tea screamed in a frightened tone.

Marik finally focused on the fact that their hover was now spiraling out of control, since Saif was too preoccupied to drive it.

"Grab the wheel!" Bakura shouted, struggling to immobilize a wildly writhing Saif. Marik lunged for the steering wheel, roughly pulling it right, managing to divert the hover before it hit a building wall.

"Fuck!" Marik shouted, trying to hold the wheel steady over Saif's flailing legs "Bakura! Do something!" he roared over everyone's frenzied cries.

"I'm trying!" Bakura's slightly muffled voice came from the back, accompanied by various punching noises.

"RYOU!" Serenity suddenly screamed in a terrorized tone, and Marik distractedly turned towards the back in order to see what was happening. Apparently, Saif had managed to jam the ball of his palm up Bakura's chin. Marik was too preoccupied by checking out if his friend was all right that he didn't know what hit him when Saif brought his fist against his nose, forcing him away and dislodging his hands from the wheel.

"Argh!" Marik cried, feeling the elegant bridge of his nose being pulverized beneath the redhead's punch. Unable to stop the blinding pain from spreading, Marik brought both hands to his face and tried to cradle his nose, vaguely aware of his friends' screaming.

"I knew there was summat wrong with you! You're not Ishrat!" Saif barked the understatement of the century at Marik as he quickly took control of the car, which had already started moving precariously.

"Nobody fucks with me, you hear that? HUH? Nobody!"" Saif shouted at Marik, who could now taste blood in his mouth, from the rivers sliding down his chin.

"AARGH!" Saif suddenly screamed and Marik watched, flabbergasted, as a silver whirpool practically shot out from the backseat, jumping over Saif's seat and straddling the driver. Saif lost his visual field and let go of the steering wheel, making the car roll uncontrollably in unbelievable speed.

Bakura had straddled Saif and was apparently squeezing the punk's throat in a way that looked very uncomfortable."AAAAAHHH!" Serenity screamed at the top of her lungs and Marik realized it was because of the fall their car was performing. Fighting to ignore the pain on his face, Marik grabbed the lever next to the driver's seat and used all his strength to pull the car up again. The girls were screaming so loud at the back that Marik couldn't even hear his own thoughts for a moment. He started swinging the wheel back and forth, in an attempt to evade the hovers around them. Yugi was shouting at him—Marik didn't even know what he was doing anymore.

"You're wrong…" Marik heard Bakura mutter over the panic in a voice that he recognized as the most homicidal tone he had heard from Bakura yet. The albino, blood gurgling freely from his mouth, staining the prefect porcelain skin…he narrowed his eyes, as red and vicious as the blood flowing down his throat "Nobody fucks with _me_."

And with those words, Bakura held his death grip on terrified Saif's throat, raising his other hand in the air as a fist.

"Puny Mortal" the spirit sneered as he positively crushed Saif's face with his hit, retching a cry out of the redhaired man. Marik, who was too preoccupied with the car to see what was happening behind him, turned around just in time to see Saif raise his knee roughly, landing a solid kick on Bakura's crotch area.

"Argh!" Bakura lost his balance for a few moments and Saif got the chance to through him off, forcing him to slam against the side of the vehicle.

"Bakura!" Marik shouted anxiously, but had no time to watch the fighting match, since he had to refocus on driving.

"Nobody touches me and gets away with it!" Bakura roared after a brief pause. And with these words, an enraged Bakura swung his hand against Saif, grabbing the redhead's hair and tugging on it sadistically, earning a satisfying mewl of protest.

Baring his teeth like a caged animal, Bakura positively pounced on Saif, bringing his mouth over Saif's exposed throat and biting down brutally.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Saif actually screamed, accompanied by Serenity and Tea, who couldn't believe the repulsive sight. Bakura's eyes, now wide and red and crazy, had a fire spiraling inside unlike any other, while he had his teeth buried deep in the man's skin.

"What? What's going on?" Marik shouted, trying to be heard over Serenity's earth-shattering screams, but to no avail. He turned hoarsely backwards to see what was happening, but he only managed to see Bakura's silver head raise up from a mutely screaming Saif. The albino hadn't really sucked much blood, it was just the bite that hit the main artery that had immobilized the redhead. Marik turned quickly forwards again, maneuvering the car around an offensive vehicle and trying to find a place he could land.

Once Saif dropped solidly backwards on the seat, unconscious, Bakura shook his head and lapped at the blood still left on his lips.

"Refreshing, although bland." Bakura explained to the gaping others as he nonchalantly shrugged, making sure to punch Saif one last time, just for the heck of it.

"AAAH!" Marik yelled suddenly, as he realized the thing was slipping out of his control, no matter what he did. A dozen signs about fuel leak must have gone off, but Marik was too deaf to hear them. The hover lunged forwards ungracefully, throwing Bakura off Saif and against the side other of the car. The albino groaned as Marik shouted at him "Bakura! Help! I don't know how to stop it!"

"Pushy, pushy…" Bakura muttered as he tried to make his head stop lolling back and forth out of dizziness. Marik saw the ground come dangerously closer

"WE'RE GOING TO CRASH! TAKE COVER!" Marik shouted at the top of his lungs, just before he felt an unspeakable force hit him from the side. He cried in pain as he was thrown away from the wheel and to the other side of the car, where he landed back-to-chest against Bakura, who automatically wrapped his hands around him. The tanned boy, knowing that what he was doing was completely paranoid at a crisis like this, but still unable to help it, took advantage of Bakura's embrace, twisting in the albino's arms in order to bury his face in the crook of Bakura's neck.

"AAHHH!" everyone on the back screamed and bent down, struggling to cover their heads with anything available. Serenity briefly saw a flash of white and gold, and instantly knew her Ryou's body was close to Marik again. An uncontrollable flash of jealousy came over her, demanding why she was forced to be separated from her rightful lover at a time like this. It was _she_ who needed to be held, just like with Yugi and Tea. It was _she_ who was Ryou's girlfriend, not _Marik_. The uneasiness of before suddenly grew into an insanely intense hate/jealousy towards Marik and Bakura both. They were the ones who were destroying her happiness- they were the ones that kept taking the one she loved away!

"Hold on!" Yugi shouted as the inevitable crash came closer and Marik roughly fisted his hands on the back of Bakura's shirt, tugging on it almost viciously. In response, Bakura tightened his grip around Marik's back, sliding his hands further down around Marik's waist, but the tanned boy couldn't find it in himself to care. He just felt Bakura's nose and mouth squeeze against his shoulder and basked in the unbelievable warmth, momentarily forgetting their predicament.

But that wasn't so easy when their predicament came to haunt him in the form of a ground-shaking crash. Feeling the unearthly force hit his sternum and drag his head down, he shouted despondently in Bakura's arms, briefly getting a flash of guilt at the fact that he was now in the place Serenity should normally be.

But it was too hard to stay guilty about that when he felt like the ground was being taken from under his feet and his world was turning around him in a flash of colors and light. Everything rolled around except for the steady warmth around his torso and under his chest. The hoarse, uneven huffs of breath on his throat never left.

With a crumbling thud, their hovercraft landed, face first, on a metallic platform at the side of a tall building. Marik closed his eyes, not wanting to feel anything, trying to make the blackness stop spiraling around his shut lids.

Somehow, he realized, he had landed under Bakura during the crash, and now he was spread on the ground like a wounded eagle, with Bakura still on top of him, unmoving but for the unsteady breathing.

For a long time, Marik didn't see or hear or feel anything. In his mind, a thousand warning signs went off, telling him his friends could be hurt- dead even- but he couldn't find it in himself to open his eyes. All that mattered at that crucial moment was that Bakura was alive above him, breathing still, although with much labor. They were both alive. They'd made it. And even though he knew it was selfish, he was glad, at least for that.

More than ten minutes must have passed before someone on the back was heard scrambling around.

"Guys…?" Yugi's faint voice was heard, overly loud in the overwhelming silence. One by one, Marik heard his friends speak.

"Yugi!" Tea's unusually weak voice said "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine…Somehow…" the boy answered her, now not as a Game King but as normal Yugi. Apparently, during the crash, Dark Yugi had left the body. How convenient for him- if only everyone could do the same.

But Marik was getting more worried by the moment. There was a voice he didn't hear- the voice of one of the most gentle and caring people he'd ever met.

"Serena?" he heard Tea speak up, and his guilt intensified tenfold. If something had happened to Serenity and it was his fault, he would never be able to forgive himself. Never.

An ominous silence followed. "Serena?" Tea called again, more anxiously.

Distracted by the unresponsive Serena, Marik barely registered Bakura groan lightly and start shaking his head over him. Marik swallowed uneasily. If Serena was hurt because Ryou hadn't been there to protect her…if Marik had taken away her beloved…if…

"Mmmm…" a barely audible voice mumbled, and Marik hadn't realized to what extent he had been worrying until then "I'm'ere…" Serenity's soft voice said, and Marik felt his heart return to his ribcage.

"…You okay?" Yugi asked her tiredly as he shuffled around.

"'Bit dizzy…whoa…I think I hurt my hand…" Serenity said, and Marik didn't even fight the urge to smile at her goofy nature. He would make sure never to keep Ryou away from her again. Never, ever, ever again.

"…hey" Marik was startled by the sound of an uncomfortably deep voice, very close to his ear. How hard it was to think straight when Bakura was so close…"…you okay?" the spirit asked in that sinfully husky voice, and Marik fought not to become as emotional as a girl after a traumatic experience. That would make him do something he would regret dearly.

"Uh-huh.." he managed in a small voice, trying not to be heard by anyone.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Bakura scuffed in an annoyed whisper, seemingly also trying not to be heard by the others.

"Oh Yugi! I thought it was the end! I thought I'd never see you again!" Tea squealed while jumping on a startled Yugi and Marik could almost feel Bakura tiredly roll his eyes. He was right about overemotional girls and hover-crashes, after all. But he still felt guilty for Serenity, who didn't have anyone to vent out her over-emotionality right now.

"Bakura…" he started in a pained voice, trying to fight the bitter sorrow about telling Bakura to go, consequently abandoning this warmth. After all, Marik was a man. He was meant to be strong and lonely. Not like Serenity, who needed Ryou's warmth much more than he did Bakura's.

"What's wrong?" Bakura said in unexpected alarm, obviously worried about Marik's slightly hurt tone "Are you hurt?" he let his voice raise up a bit, uncaring if the others heard, now. Marik watched through half-lidded, fuzzy eyes as Bakura's anxious face zoomed into view, his red eyes hovering few inches above Marik's nose.

"That fuck!" Bakura suddenly barked, finally taking clear notice of Marik's defiled and bloody nose and the red trails over his mouth "I guess I didn't pound him hard enough the first time. He'll pay for what he did." Bakura made up his mind, the ire clear in his eyes.

Marik felt more and more unwilling to tell Bakura to go, seeing as Bakura lavishing him with his attention wasn't helping matters. That had always been his weak spot.

"Does it hurt a lot? Are you okay?" Bakura started saying while lightly inspecting Marik's face. Searching for signs of pain. Marik thought that the worried look was endearing on Bakura's face, especially since it was so extremely rare.

"Shhh." Marik swatted Bakura's fingers away from his face "I'm fine" he said, resting his head on the floor freely while letting Bakura watch him from above,

Bakura furrowed his eyebrows "Then what is it?" he asked, switching his body mass from one elbow to the other, making Marik remember how terribly –and lewdly- he had been squeezed under the albino.

"Bakura…" Marik started, knowing he sounded idiotic and repetitive but unable to help it. He raised his palms and pulled Bakura's head forward, so that he could speak in the other's ear.

"I think you must go." He said the hardest phrase he had ever had to say.

As though electrified, Bakura freed his head from Marik's fatigued grasp and stared at the other man half in surprise and half in confusion…and what was that in Bakura's eyes…it couldn't possibly be…inhibition?

"What? Why?" Bakura asked, alarmed, struggling to keep the hurt rejection from his face. Just when he had thought he'd found someone that didn't mind him being around, that someone had to betray his trust? What had he done wrong anyway? Marik had never wanted him to leave before…It was that little fucker, Saif! Bakura knew he should've killed him when he had the chance. Now Marik was probably mad at him because he'd failed to protect him…

"Don't! Don't get mad!" Marik pleaded, watching the unveiled hurt now flash across Bakura's features. He took Bakura's head in his hands, letting his fingers card through the silky hair, watching with satisfaction as Bakura's eyes seemed to glaze over. "It's not that I don't want you…here" the tanned boy whispered, desperately hoping the vague voices he heard from afar were his three oblivious friends, that couldn't hear him.

Not really registering what he was doing and feeling his heart throb painfully in his chest, he let one of his hands slip around Bakura's head and slide down over his cheek to touch the unbelievably soft, creamy skin. The tanned young man tried to deny the heat that was coiling everywhere in his body when he saw Bakura close his eyes and turn his face around, so that his lips and nose where both grazing Marik's hand. The feeling of Bakura's wet lips against his fingers was sending shivers up his spine.

Afraid of Bakura's overly passionate conduct, and terrified of his own body's response, Marik started to take his hand away, only to be stopped when Bakura covered his hand with one of his own, forcing it to stay.

Frozen, staring in disbelief and now shockingly hoarse, Marik watched, enchanted, as Bakura held Marik's hand over his face with both of his own palms, rubbing it almost frantically against his cheekbones. Marik was so shocked by what he was seeing –and much more importantly, feeling-that he didn't even have the time to register that Bakura's mouth was now on his fingers, play-biting.

Bakura's closed eyes as his breaths hit Marik's hand, the faint trail of blood that led from the albino's mouth to his collarbone, the pale chest that rose and fell rapidly under Ryou's gothic black shirt…all those little things. Marik bitterly realized these ridiculous clothes fit Bakura very well… Suddenly, unexpectedly, as he watched Bakura's tongue dart out and lap at his hand, as he saw Bakura's red eyes peek at him through fallen lashes, Marik finally sorted out his feelings. He finally understood. And wanted to cry.

"Bakura…you have to go…" he started muttering, trying to tell Bakura to stop, to go away, to disappear from his life before it was too late, because what they were doing was wrong and they were both men, and Ryou already had a woman, and the two of them had no future, no matter what.

"I don't want to…not yet…" the overly husky voice breathed, making heat gather everywhere in Marik's lungs.

"no…listen to me…Bakura…we…" he tried again, forcing his mind to turn to thoughts of Serenity, alone and crippled without her Ryou, hating Marik for all he had done to her. But Bakura didn't seem to be listening, already too lost in this heat, this whirlpool. It had been too long, and for centuries he'd been trying to deny it- for centuries he'd tried to push the loneliness down. But it was no use denying it: the cold was killing him- he'd been dying all this time.

And now, finally, the heat of another human; not making him want to kill but making him want to live. The warmth of Marik's body- his eyes, his hair, his lips…Too long…He hadn't felt this need for heat ever before- not even with blood or murder and hate. Too long had he stayed in the shadows, too long had he sneered at mortal need, too long had he lived in hate and self-mutilation…

Now he wanted heat and the sun and Marik's smile. He wanted Marik's hands on him, over him, everywhere around him. A pang at his heart almost killed him at the remembrance that it wasn't his body after all. He was dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. He'd always been. He was gone, buried six feet under. Worms had probably already eaten his rotten corpse…

But he wanted to live. He wanted to live. For once after he discovered his existence, he didn't want to die: he wanted to live. To live and be warm, and fresh, and new again. To be reborn out of the ashes of eternity, to be free. Free with another human, not alone. Free with Marik, at last, somewhere where no one would have to manipulate him or curse at him or hate him. Somewhere where he wouldn't be afraid of touch and love and human contact…No responsibilities, no bloodlust, no Ryou drowning him in the guilt of death.

Marik choked on his own saliva when he felt Bakura's thighs at his sides, straddling him…if he'd turned a blind eye before, he couldn't deny it anymore. It was there, crushed against each other, completely hard and hot and primal: the proof of their true feelings. He felt Bakura move his palm downwards, to slide over the albino's terrifyingly taut nipples, over the gooseflesh of his biceps and even further down, to the hell of his arousal.

"Oh, Mariku…" Bakura suddenly moaned, leaving all caution to the wind and displaying a once-in-a-life time show of naked emotion. Just as the over-aroused, sentimental wrack he was, he let himself collapse over the other boy, finally letting go of Marik's hand and pulling him in a wholehearted embrace instead. Marik froze, not knowing what to feel and what to do. He felt Bakura's presence, his absolutely comforting display of friendship and emotion; he felt Bakura smell his hair, which was twisted under their lying bodies; he felt he wanted to die now and go to heaven.

His problems now amplified tenfold at the recent realization about his feelings, Marik did everything he could to reign over his urges, which ordered every single fiber of his body to grab Bakura, slam him against the floor and take him in any way possible, _now_.

"Guys! Are you okay?" was suddenly heard the frantic worried voice of Tea. Over-aware of what was happening and that if he didn't move instantly, Serenity would see her boyfriend in a very compromising position, Marik gritted his teeth and used all his strength- physical and psychological- to push Bakura off.

The albino, startled, suddenly realized that even though he wanted Marik with all his being, Marik didn't seem to want _him_, and he most probably never would. The mask of impersonality was instantly pulled over Bakura's features once more, his heart freezing over again in an instant, the ice of darkness penetrating his soul and stilling it forever in its abyss.

"Serena!" Marik started saying, overly worried she had actually seen them all over one another. He saw the three of his friends climbing over the ruins of their hovercraft and frantically looked over to Bakura, whose form was now hunched over, prone on the floor, looking away from him.

"Marik!" Serena worriedly gasped, only now managing to get a good look at Marik's broken nose. She saw where Ryou's body was in proportion to Marik's and cursed herself for being so insanely stupid so as to think something was actually going on between them before. After all, they were both men, and they were only friends. "Oh Marik, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Is your nose all right! Ryou! Are you all right?"

When the twin ruby eyes turned icily towards Serenity, she realized this was not her lucky day. Bakura was still in control of Ryou's body, and to Serena's annoyance, he didn't seem very willing to leave.

"Oh. Hi." Serenity said in an unusual monosyllabity that didn't characterize her very much. Bakura didn't answer her attempt at being cold, not even to show her he didn't care. Right now, he only cared about one thing: making himself hate Marik. He wanted to. He wanted to hate him so much. He wanted it to show in his face that he hated Marik, because if it didn't, he was afraid he'd let go of all pretences, and everyone would see him break down and scream out his rejection. So it was all a lie, wasn't it? All the words, the touches, the gazes…they meant nothing. How could he have been so stupid so as to think his 'feelings' would matter, even for a moment? How _could_ he be so blinded by his need for Marik that he never even realized Marik would never want him in return. He was dead- he didn't even exist, and that was the truth, no matter how much he hated it. What would Marik ever want with him, except to use him and fuck with his brain, just like everybody else? That's what Marik was: just another little shit, like everybody else. Like everybody else…

What was it, that made Marik so special, anyway? Huh? Nothing! Nothing at all! Not his crystal eyes, not his shiny hair, not his flawless face, not his witty remarks! Absolutely nothing made Marik special! He was nothing! Another insignificant mortal worm in Bakura's way, one that Bakura had been stupid enough to notice and let climb on his foot. But he would shake it off, and crush it, just like he had every other. He would crush him. He would destroy Marik! He hated him! Hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him, HATES him! It was never anything else, only misjudged malice he'd ever felt for the blond.

And as he watched Serenity and Tea fawn over the beautiful boy and saw Marik's kind yet slightly bitter smile towards Serena, he felt his hate and jealousy swell even bigger inside him. He was left in the dark corner, as always, left alone, cold and bloody, to rot in his slimy dark prison. And Marik…Marik…Marik had kindness and charm to share with everyone except him. Everyone always had everything, except him. And now, the one thing he'd wanted more than _anything_ he'd ever known was denied to him so bluntly, so absolutely…He hated Marik- he truly did. He hated him. Hated him and everyone else around him. Hated that Serena woman, hated Tea, hated Yugi, and overall, hated Rishid, hated, hated, hated Rishid, the same Rishid who he'd seen receiving Marik's love confession, albeit brotherly.

"Ryou…Are you okay?" young Yugi's voice suddenly startled him out of his reverie. Yugi seemed to have a hard bruise on his cheek, but looked okay, overall. Bakura was annoyed at his interruption, which had rudely disrupted his trail of hateful thoughts. Apparently, Yugi had not yet realized he wasn't talking to Ryou, even though he could see dark spirits. Bakura didn't bother hiding his identity.

"I'm fine. Get lost." He said gruffly, avoiding Yugi's eyes since he wanted to be alone. He ignored the alien knot in his stomach and the stale taste in his mouth, the taste he vaguely recognized as blood, which didn't seem so appealing, suddenly.

"Bakura, then…" Yugi shook his head in mock disappointment and winced slightly as he moved his neck. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I said I'm fine!" Bakura barked, annoyed, making Serena and Tea jump and Marik turn to look at him questioningly, with those slim, crystal, pretty eyes that Bakura wanted to rip out. He hated the fact that everyone was looking at him, felt like a leper all of a sudden. He felt strange when he saw Marik's eyes widen at him, seemingly surprised, but to Bakura it seemed as though Marik was sneering at him, mocking him, playing with him and daring him to ridicule himself even more- daring him to even try showing his feelings again. God, he hated Marik. He hated him even more!

"Bakura…" Yugi's kind voice started.

"What the hell is you're problem! I'm fucking fine!" Bakura practically screamed at Yugi, who strangely stayed unshaken, and Bakura felt terrified inside, terrified that he wasn't even capable of terrorizing a single mortal anymore. Had he become so crippled, really, just because of the need for Marik?

"Then why are you crying?" Yugi simply asked, his face displaying the honest concern Bakura hated- the kind of concern you know will disappear when they get the first chance to backstab you. Just like with _him_. And as Bakura fully took in the meaning of Yugi's words, he finally understood why they were all gaping, and he wanted to reach out and tear his own eyes out of his face, forcing them to stop betraying him and show his true colors! His eyes widened, uncontrollably and his jaws started shaking, dropping open. He heard more than felt the moisture of his own, alien, tears splashing against his cheekbones and suddenly realized what the cleansing taste in his mouth was.

Unable to stop his now fully released horror he took a step backwards, trying to reassure Yugi he was wrong, that Dark Bakura never cried- ever. He turned around, hoping to all deities known that Marik hadn't seen how much he had hurt him- hadn't believed…But when he saw the equally wide, horrified eyes stare at him, he let out a choked cry and swallowed dryly.

The next moment, Ryou's body had fallen to the floor, motionless and empty, dead and cold- the soul inside had left. Serenity rushed to her beloved's body, realizing Bakura had _finally_ left, and was eager to bring out her boyfriend, when she felt a force shove her away from the side and she saw him- Marik- grabbing her love's shoulders and shaking him frantically. The others were watching mutely, not knowing what to do or what to say, as Marik started shouting.

"Bakura! NO!" he almost hysterically called at Ryou's lethargic body, shaking it harder. Serenity stayed out of the way, watching Marik and Bakura with unseeing eyes, her worst fears now finally coming to pass "It's not like it seems- I didn't want you to go! Please, Bakura!" he cried, and everyone saw wet drops fall from Marik's eyes to sleeping Ryou's cheek. Despondent in his despair, Marik let go of Ryou's body and reached inside the boy's shirt for the now icy ring.

"Come back!" he screamed at the golden item, clawing at it with his nails like an animal. Tea buried her face in Yugi's chest, frightened by Marik's hoarse shouts "Come back, dammit! I only did it for Ryou, don't you understand? What would happen if she saw us!" he barked, not caring one bit that he was just revealing everything in front of everyone "Don't do this, Bakura! I need you! Now more than ever…" he kept saying while Serenity had put a palm over her mouth, unbelieving, guilty and terrified at the same time. This was too intense, too passionate…Marik was falling apart- and she hadn't seen Marik fall apart before. She hadn't been in the KC Base, when he freaked out, nor had she been in the underground cave, when he cried about his past. She hadn't seen him like this before. Suddenly, she felt like she didn't even know him.

"Bakura…" Marik let out a final whimper. He didn't even notice it when Serena placed a hand on his shoulder. She softly bent down and pulled the ring out of Marik's grasp, tucking it back under Ryou's shirt.

"C'mon…" she tried as hard as she could to understand the problem without crying herself from the intensity of Marik's passion "Don't worry, Marik…I'm sure he'll come back…he always does, doesn't he?"

"It's…not the same" Marik realized, horrified. "You…I…I'm such an idiot!" Marik roared at the top of his lungs, the echo of his shout bouncing over every wall in the vicinity.

"Don't blame yourself Marik…" Tea found it in herself to say, finally letting go of Yugi's embrace. At last she'd accepted that even though males sounded absolutely frightening when screaming; their hoarse, deep voices didn't make them less human than everyone else "We'll never truly understand Bakura…right? So you can't expect…"

Marik shook his head, as though admitting to himself what a complete idiot he was "You're right. You won't…" he started, fighting to keep the sobs inside his ribcage and not let the world see what a coward this love for Bakura had made of him " but I do…" he admitted and shoved the balls of his hands in his eyes, as though trying to stop the inevitable tears that would follow, just like they always did when it was about Bakura.

"Marik…" Serenity shook her head, feeling guiltier than she ever had, for having ignored Marik's feelings for so long and treated him as an all-powerful leader. He was human too, and, apparently, Bakura's presence had been keeping him together all this time- the same presence that Serenity had kept scorning a while ago.

"I'm so sorry…" she said, wrapping her hands around the back of Marik's shoulders in a hug, with Ryou's body still lying under them "We all are." She said, and felt tears climb up her eyes. She turned to the others and gave them a pleading gaze. After a few moments, Tea and Yugi where over Marik also, comforting him as much as they could.

"We expected too much of you, Marik…" Yugi sighed, patting Marik's shoulder. "It's unfair."

"Nobody should have to go through that much…no human." Serenity shook her head "Please, forgive us." She asked the unmoving youngster.

"We're your friends too, you know, and if you ever need help, you don't have only him. You know that, right? Your friends will help you, always." Tea gently said, her words suddenly seeming less like a preach and more like an honest advice. It didn't do anything to ease his pain however, since he now felt guilty that his other friends could never compensate to the possible loss of Bakura in his heart.

Marik couldn't find it in himself to speak as he let his eyes trail over Ryou Bakura's unmoving face, his pale lips, and the inexplicably aesthetic red trail over the porcelain jaw. Only a few minutes before, that mouth had been licking him, moaning at him- those eyes had been open and red, beckoning him finally to dominate them…

But now….within mere minutes…from having everything, he suddenly had nothing.

And once again, it was his own fault.

* * *

It couldn't have been more than an hour since they crashed. They knew the CyberCops would come to the site of the accident immediately, so they'd made sure to get away from there as quickly as possible.

They had dragged Ryou's mysteriously consciousless body along with them and had walked around the suspiciously dark and isolated building they had landed on. Marik was now once again walking at the front of the group, only now he had Serenity by his side. How ironic. Before, when he had Bakura within his grasp, he was worrying about Serenity. Now that Bakura had finally gone, Marik couldn't find it in his guilty conscience to care less what Serenity would ever think of him. Honestly, he disgusted himself, sometimes.

Ryou's body was thrown over one of Marik's shoulders, even after Yugi's repeated offers to help carry him. The party kept walking around the dark corridors of the somewhat creepy building, always watchful for sudden CyberCop appearances.

"Doesn't it seem a little weird that this place is absolutely empty from people?" Serenity somewhat suspiciously questioned, but Marik didn't seem to be listening to her. Instead, he simply kept staring straight, just like a blind man who had just learned to silently accept his fate. This continued silence from Marik's part was worrying Serenity more and more, since she didn't know whether Marik was ready to take fully rational decisions, in his state of mind. And now, with Ryou seemingly out of it, the group's dependence on Marik's person became even more uncomfortably, pronounced.

They had just entered yet another dark corridor with a spotlight at the end, when they detected movement in the end of it. Tired as they were from the crash and slightly crippled as well, they didn't realize it was a person until they had walked a fair distance towards the end.

"Who's that?" Tea asked in alarm, as she took in the desolate figure in the end of the corridor, seemingly unmoving but undeniably human.

"I can't tell yet…We'll have to go closer…" Serenity answered in a whisper.

"I don't like this…maybe we have to turn back…"Yugi started saying, when they all saw the figure in the other end of the corridor move. The person walked towards them and they all realized he was wearing long, billowing robes, and a hood to cover his head.

Marik, numbly unperturbed by the situation, kept steadily walking forward, his usual strut now nowhere to be seen, having been replaced by a sullen stumble.

The figure kept walking towards them also, and Serenity vaguely wandered what were the chances of they're coincidental landing on that building. She also idly wandered if Marik understood they were on a missio. He certainly didn't seem to be aware of the environment ever since he and Bakura had that little crisis- whatever it was about.

"Hello there.'" A calm male voice suddenly greeted them from the direction of the cloaked figure. This all seemed increasingly strange to be happening coincidentally, Serenity and Yugi thought. Tea was preoccupied with the troubled frown that had formed on Marik's face.

"Who are you?" Marik cut to the chase, not too politely. The figure stayed silent for a few moments, making Marik wonder what this was all about "Why is this place empty?" Marik questioned again, obviously not up to games anymore.

The figured laughed quietly, drawing goosebumps on Serenity's flesh. That laugh didn't seem very kind, although the cloaked man certainly made an effort to soften it…

"I'm surprised you should ask, Marik." The voice amiably said, and Marik's eyes snapped to the figure immediately. He didn't remember introducing himself to this guy. He also eerily recognized the voice, as though he'd heard it somewhere before, only not exactly like that…

"How do you know my name?" he asked quickly, but the cloaked man completely ignored his question and continued his explanation.

"This is one of the old factory units. One of the factories that used to work centuries ago…Now it's just an empty dump, restricted to the public for reasons unknown. But it's prohibited by law to wreck the factories like this…no one knows why." The figure strangely informed.

"There are more places like this?" Marik asked, not losing a beat. Perhaps this numbness and general tiredness was making him more emotionless and efficient than ever, Serenity thought. But then again, with Marik, one ever knows what he's thinking and how much of it is reflected in his face.

"Oh, plenty." The figure didn't hesitate to say. "In fact, one of these empty buildings serves as Mr. Ishrat's current home."

Silence dropped heavy between the four friends and the stranger. Marik, overly careful not to let his vexation show in his voice, said: "How do you know we're looking for Ishrat?"

Once again, the teasing laughter echoed around them, chilling the blood in their veins.

"Oh, I know much about you, Marik…" the figure said, slowly starting to walk forward, making everyone except Marik scurry backwards. The tanned boy stayed put, Ryou still unconscious over his shoulder, and stared right at the figure. He was so tired of this. So tired of the adventure. The truth was, he wanted it all to be over. As selfish as it was, he wanted it to end, either with him as the winner or not. He never asked for any of this, did he? All he wanted was a simple life- a life with memories. He was willing to let even that go, if Bakura could come back. He just wanted it to be over, now that it was clear Bakura hated him. He wanted everything to come to an end, even if it meant he'd have to die to get the answers. He knew he shouldn't drag the others down with him, but his selfishness had suffered too much of trauma to reside.

"Who are you?" Yugi repeated Marik's curious question from before, but the figure didn't answer, only walked forward, the long cloak billowing black behind him. Once he'd reached Marik, he stopped and gave Marik a full view of his cloak covered face.

Suddenly, the man leaned in and bent towards Marik's ear, whispering there the few words that he knew were needed to instigate the chain reaction.

"I know what you're searching for…I know where your memory is." He whispered breathily and stepped back out of Marik's personal space.

"Because that's what you want, isn't it, Marik?" the man in the tunic said, slowly turning backwards and walking away, leaving Marik wide eyed and cold, chilled to the bone with fright and excitement at the same time.

"Wait!" he shouted, and the figure immediately stopped, waiting for the next words "How? How do you know all this?"

If Marik could see in the darkness, he would clearly recognize a smile in the cloaked man's lips. "I have my ways…I've been watching you for a long time…" he hissed with his poisonous voice, and slowly turned around again. Serenity was getting more and more nervous about both this, and the current stability of Marik's judgment.

"What a wonderful pet you have there." The cloaked man remarked, motioning lazily towards Ryou's motionless body. Marik's vision started reddening in ire "Don't call him that!" Marik roared, bringing out a new string of laughter from the cloaked figure.

"And why not? Isn't that what he was to Kaiba? A pet. But, of course, to you he means so much more…you are friends, after all, are you not?" the cloaked man teased, and Serenity felt sick, truly sick, sick down to her gut. Somehow, she knew what this stranger meant with those words, even if he didn't have to say it aloud. And it stung her that a part of Ryou, even though a small part, would prefer someone else over her.

"Would you like to know…" the stranger started, taking a small step back towards the now nervous Marik "Would you like to know…" he let the statement trail on, seemingly enjoying the bobbing of Marik's Adam's apple and the cold sweat that had broken at the other boy's brow.

"…how to give him his body back?" he whispered again, making Marik gasp and tremble. Instantly Dark Yugi broke out of his golden Pyramid.

"What does he mean? Is he talking about…Ryou's Darkside?" the Game King frantically questioned and everyone was startled when the cloaked man started laughing again, this time harder than any other time. Could he…hear the spirits too?

"Who else would I be talking about?" he answered, verifying the fact that he could see the spirits also. "Tell me, Marik…" he started, somewhat teasingly "To what extents would you go, to make him live again…I know how you can do it…I know where…"

Losing all semblance of control, Marik lurched forward and grabbed the man's cloak in a fist "Tell me!" he ordered, squeezing the man's clothes in his first.

"Easy…easy, Marik…" the man raised a gloved hand and loosened Marik's grip on his clothes. Shaken to the core by the man's previous words, and with a spark of hope now flying around his stomach, Marik stepped backwards and looked at the other expectantly. Meanwhile, Serenity and Tea were watching the exchange with a growing feeling of dread, knowing already that Marik had lost the battle.

"You wouldn't want your only information contact to get hurt, would you?" the man teased with his slithery voice.

"Stop playing games and just tell me what you know!" Marik said, trying not to sound like he was begging, which he practically was, at least in his head.

The man laughed yet again and slowly turned his back to Marik in order to walk away. "Follow me." He offered "And I will take where you want to go."

"And where is that?" Tea questioned, trying to prolong the situation, not liking the thought of following this guy anywhere.

"Why, to Mr. Ishrat, of course…he will help you find what you've lost…he will give you the answers…isn't that right, Marik?" the man turned to Marik, and the tanned boy was sure he was sneering behind his cloak. That voice…that luring voice seemed awfully familiar, somehow, only Marik couldn't remember where he'd heard it before…

"Who. Are. You." Marik simply drawled out with narrowed eyes "tell me, or I'm not going to follow you anywhere." He practically attempted to blackmail.

"Suit yourself…Mr. Ishrat was looking so forward to seeing you…I guess I'll have to disappoint him…Of course, you'll never get the answers you want, but…who cares, right? One can't have everything. But, I assure you, you will never find Mr.Ishrat another way…" well…that blackmail was certainly much more successfully put.

"Wait!" Marik called again, seeing the man turn to leave. Yet again, the man stopped dead in his tracks and waited, as though enjoying his power over the situation, which he probably was.

"Yeeeeeessss?" he drawled in a sing-song voice, and it suddenly dawned on Serenity that the man had sounded extremely deranged all along.

"I'll…I'll follow you." Marik seemed to have made up his mind. Serenity stared at him, wide eyed "Marik what are you saying?" she argued "Are you crazy? It's an obvious trap, you _must_ be able to understand that!"

"I know it's a trap, Serena…" he said in a low voice, and turned to Tea and Yugi "You don't have to go if you don't want to…But…I'm going…It's the only way, I know. I'm not leaving here unless I get some answers…I have to clear this up…"

Serenity, Yugi and Tea exchanged looks of disbelief and stared at Marik as though he was crazy. But the tanned boy was rigid in his decision. He was tired of this…he wanted it to be over, one way or another. He gave the others a choice, however…A choice to escape, even though he wasn't sure the cloak man would _let_ them escape in the first place…

"My brother…Joey…" Serenity started saying "If there's a chance I can find him…even a slim one…I'll take it. If he's with Ishrat, then that's where I must go…I believe…I believe this is a trap, but we have no other chance of finding him either way…so…I'm going with you…."

"And I'm going with you too, because if there's a way that a spirit can be returned to its body, then I have to find it…" Yugi explained, exchanged a look of determination with dark Yugi and pursed his lips.

"I'm not letting all my friends fight alone." Tea said determinedly, making Marik smile, for reasons unknown "Where we go, we go together. And I'm not leaving Yugi. No matter if this is a trap or not."

"Then…we're going?" Marik asked for reassurance, and everyone nodded. Slowly, Marik turned to watch the cloaked figure, which was turned towards them again.

"Peeeeeeerfect." The man purred satisfactorily and laughed in his customary cruel way. Serenity reached out automatically for Tea's hand and watched the man in the long robes walk away slowly, obviously beckoning them to follow him.

It was Marik who took the first step after their guide. With his heart beating fast and his lips white from angst, he started walking hesitantly after the cloaked figure. The ultimate reality of what he was doing was slowly dawning on him, and he was slowly realizing in what a trap he was walking into. But he also knew it couldn't be helped, if he wanted to gain something. It was easy to give up when the hard times came, but that way, no one won anything. He had to do this. For himself…for Bakura…

Stiffening his muscles, Marik let an unintelligible whimper. He raised a hand and cradled the back of unconscious Ryou's head- or, as he saw it, Bakura's head.

"I know that what I'm doing is crazy…" he whispered in the albino's ear, as though he thought Bakura could hear him from inside the body "And I know they'll never let us out of there alive, but…" he tried to justify his actions, closing his eyes and letting a crystal tear roll down his cheek "but it there is a way to make you live…I'll do anything…anything…"

But Bakura's unresponsive body filled his heart with fright and coldness and loneliness "I'll make you live, Bakura…and when I do, I'm never letting you go again." At this, he squeezed Bakura's body closer "Never again…" he confessed as he lightly kissed Bakura's temple, tasting the frozen coldness of his pale skin, beneath the silken moonlight hair.

"Where to?" Yugi asked the cloaked man as he sauntered guilelessly forward.

"Why…" the man slowly said, not bothering to look at Yugi as he spoke "To Kuru Eruna, of course…" he smiled behind his cloak, and Marik felt a chill race up his spine at the mentioning of the name, as though he'd heard it somewhere before…

"…the Village of the Dead."

* * *

In the lights of the busy city, the mysterious man that was guiding them didn't seem as black and colorless as before. In the flashing lights of the passing hovercrafts and the ominous spotlights of the towers above, the man's long cloak glowed deep purple- the color Rishid often wore, Marik uncomfortably noted. But the man's voice reminded him nothing of Rishid, even though it was familiar…but it was familiar in a different way, somehow…In the forehead area, the man's cloak had the lilac imprint of a big eye, as ominous looking and as ritualistic as the rest of his appearance.

But then again, in the midst of all the chaos in level B, no one's appearance could be considered 'strange'. Marik watched metallic underground buildings tower around them, and wondered whether or not one of them would be Kuru Eruna.

Ryou's dead weight on his shoulder was wearing Marik off, and many times he'd been forced to switch shoulders. He had walked just about as much as he could bear, through dark roads and across ominous streets and into another deserted old factory. They'd descended to the factory's lowest floor when the guide finally stopped.

Marik, relieved for the rest, let Ryou's body lie on the floor while he sat next to it, completely worn out. From behind him, Serenity's much less fatigued voice called out "Are we there yet?"

The guide didn't say anything, just raised one dark gloved hand and pointed forward. The chain attached to his cloak on the forehead clinked gently as he moved. Marik raised his eyes upwards, meeting nothing but an absolutely dark void. There was nothing there; no building…no door…nothing. Just an isolated, empty landscape.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he asked in a stale tone, not even bothering to be worried. Right now, he was only worrying that all his walking had gone to waste.

"Hardly." The man in the cloak said and lowered his pointing finger.

"Then where the heck is the building?" Yugi asked, impatiently. If only he could see the guide's amused smile from under his cloak.

"Who says it has to be a building?"

And with those words, they all heard a deep sound coming from the ground, as though a thousand eggs were hatching at the same time. Serenity and her friends cluttered near each other in a frightened manner and Marik grabbed Ryou's body and pulled it near him in order to protect it.

The guide remained standing rigidly, completely unperturbed, as the very ground under his feet started to shake. Before everyone's very eyes, the ground in front of the guide split in two and started sinking, revealing a secret passage that led deep into the ground. Distracted, Marik wondered why no one had ever noticed there was such a thing in this building's basement, but then he remembered they were in an area restricted to civilians. How convenient. And how strange that the cloaked guide had access to these restricted buildings.

"Follow me" the man in the purple cloak said and walked toward the dark crypt. Tea made a whimpering sound, but was convinced to follow when the Game King emerged and tugged at her hand. As for Serenity, she followed Marik from a very close distance as he sunk in the dark passage after the guide.

If the old factories were dark, they were nothing compared to this. A black corridor, completely dark, with no light on the other end whatsoever. They all had to grope blindly for the walls in order to walk forward, their only guide being the mystery man's steady footfalls.

"Forgive the thick atmosphere, my guests" the man's voice called from far front, in a tone far too pleased for comfort "The catacombs are murky and damp, as expected…"

They all gulped involuntarily. Catacombs? These were tombs? Death-dungeons in the depths of the earth… If so, there would have to be corpses. Marik was not very looking forward to finding out, all of a sudden.

"Yugi…I'm scared…"was heard Tea's soft whimper and Yugi's reassuring, yet shaky tone. Even though they were whispering, in the silent heat of the long corridor, the echo of their words sounded like a scream. Finally, in the nonexistent horizon, Marik made out what was a light- blue by the looks of it.

An uneasy sense of deja-vu hit him, as he recalled having walked in a dark corridor towards a blue light more than once…Oh yes…Surely in the secret crypt of his own house in Yango, he had walked the path towards the glowing symbols more than once.

He didn't really want to step out of the corridor when he reached the clearing, even though he knew he had to. He knew what he'd see before he raised his eyes and saw it. On the end of the corridor was a humungous room with glowing hieroglyphic inscriptions carved everywhere on the walls. The blue light illuminated the cloaked figure of their guide, who was standing tall and motionless in the middle of the room. Around them, in every wall of the huge round room there were tall stone arches, which spread out to different corridors- probably leading to different parts of the Catacomb.

"Are you watching this?" Marik whispered in unconscious Bakura's ear as his eyes darted out over the hieroglyphics on the walls, recognizing them as the very same inscriptions that were carved on his back and that existed in his own house, in Yango.

But Bakura didn't say anything, and Marik felt more alone than ever, faced with his secrets falling apart like this.

"What is this place?" Serenity asked no one in particular. Walking around carefully, as though afraid she would step on a booby trap- not that impossible, judging by the surroundings.

"Look how they glow! What is it, some kind of light that glows in the dark, probably…" Tea commented in fascination as she pointed at the carved inscriptions on the walls. Yugi, alarmed by the silence of the cloaked man and the stillness of their surroundings, kept his mouth shut and lowered Tea's hand softly.

"Yugi, what-" the girl started saying.

"Shhh" he hissed, putting his index in front of his lips. That made her close her mouth, finally. Now was not the time for Tea's good-natured overexcitement.

"Where are we?" Marik asked the silent guide, now hoping for some sort of explanation.

"This is the main hall of Kuru Eruna. The doors around you each lead to a different lab. At least, they used to be labs. Now they are tombs…We guard them."

Marik's ear twitched at that. "Tombs? What Tombs?"

But the man didn't answer, instead he stayed still and said nothing, seemingly waiting for something.

Suddenly, as they were watching the glyphs on the walls, Marik felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck. It started growing into a persistent itch.

"Shit." He said and promptly let Bakura lie on the ground while he reached to scratch the back of his neck in an irritated manner. But suddenly, he realized, no matter how much he scratched, the itch wouldn't go away, growing more and more persistent until it started hurting him.

"Look!" Tea yelped all of a sudden, pointing again at the glowing symbols "They're changing color!"

And they really were going from light blue to fiery orange, only Marik didn't have the time to see it, too preoccupied by the sudden ache all over his back.

"What the heck have you done?" he shouted at the cloaked figure, but only barks of merciless laughter answered him.

"AARGH!" Marik screamed in pain and fell to his knees behind the cloaked guide. He hadn't managed to reach the man in time. The pain on his back had paralyzed him, and he was now flailing around on the floor.

"Marik, what's wrong with you?" Serenity shouted frantically, trying to understand where Marik was hurting. Tea and Yugi also rushed to him, not yet registering that the cloaked man had run into one of the dark arched doors the moment everyone had been distracted.

Screaming and pulling at his hair like a madman, Marik kept writhing on the floor, under the imposing lights of the red-glowing symbols, which seemed to possess him more and more by the second.

"MARIK!" Serenity cried, but couldn't, for the life of her, understand what was happening. She saw her handsome friend spit out blood and she saw blood slide down from under his black shirt, but couldn't understand what was happening.

And then, suddenly, roughly, she was literally thrown to the side as someone pushed her from behind. She fell against Tea and turned around finally to see the back of her own boyfriend's silver head, who was standing, apparently alive and well again, over a fevered Marik.

"Where does it hurt!" Bakura's high and hoarse voice was heard as he bent and brutally took hold of Marik's writhing form.

"S…S…Sy…" Marik cried out pathetically, while tossing around on the ground as though demons had entered his brain. Deep down, he felt happy that Bakura had awoken once more, but the torture was numbing his mind.

"Sy-what? What, Mariku, WHAT?" Bakura's anguished cry echoed around the great room as he shook Marik by the shoulders.

"SYMBOLS!AAHHH!" Marik screamed at the top of his lungs while his back arched in Bakura's hands like a dying snake, and his legs kicked towards all directions frantically.

"Bakura! Help him!" Serenity cried out in despair as she tried to run to Marik's side, only to be held back by Yugi, who kept watching the scene unfurl in front of him with a grimace of angst on his face.

Bakura lost no time, understanding finally what Marik was on about and cursing himself for not realizing it earlier. With barbaric force, he grabbed Marik's sides and turned the man around so that he lay prostrate. Then, with brutal force, born only out of the need to protect, Bakura's took hold of the back of Marik's collar and ripped the shirt from top to bottom, releasing a blood-curdling ripping sound to accompany Marik's cries.

Serenity, Tea and Yugi alike gasped at what they saw, their eyes going wide and dilated when faced with the flood of blood that was flowing down Marik's back. The carved symbols on his skin looked like living pores, all of a sudden, letting blood ooze out and down Marik's back like acid.

Bakura, not knowing what to do when faced with such peril, feeling completely helpless, only tried to calm Marik down, keeping his shoulders still and massaging whatever he could find. But nothing seemed to work for the screaming boy, who seemed to be loosing an unnatural amount of blood in too short a time. In the meantime, Bakura was distracted by all the symbols around him, which somehow made him dizzy and kept giving him flashes of memory or voices, which faded out again. He couldn't concentrate.

"Look! The doors!" Tea shouted all of a sudden, and everyone except Marik whipped around to stare at the tall arches. Beneath each one now stood a different cloak figure, the eye on their foreheads illuminated solely by the red glowing symbols. And then, unexplainably shaken, Bakura watched another figure walk under the central, greatest arch. This one was different though, and it somehow alarmed Bakura, that this one would be holding a golden shiny rod, with an eye carved on the top. And eye that glowed eerily, as the man behind the cloak pointed it at Marik.

"What are you doing to him! STOP!" Serenity shouted at him, but to no avail. The man didnn't stop approaching and his cloaked followers didn't stop either, only when they had formed a tight circle around the five friends did they stop, their faces covered by their imposing hoods.

Faced with the full frontal view of the golden Rod with its glowing eye, Bakura felt something vastly unfamiliar and cold clawing at his insides: fear. This time, it was fear for his life.

"To Kuru Eruna, brat…A place where you'll learn some real manners…" 

"_Your father made deals with people, kid…dangerous deals…best not to blame yourself"_

"_Ryou! Ryou! HELP!"_

"_I think a dreamcatcher would be best…the boy always was a dreamer, after all…"_

"_Bring me the pyramid. I want this to be symbolic!"_

"_Let me go! AHAHAHAH! Take it off me! TAKE IT OFF!AHHHH!"_

"_What's the matter? Afraid, are we?"_

"_You're sick! You're SICK!"_

"_Not as sick at you, boy. You're the one with the red eyes."_

"_What have you done to me? What have you DONE!"_

The world was spinning out of control in front of Bakura's eyes. The flash wasn't as bad as all the other times, but it shook him to the core. When he managed to get back on his feet, he saw Dark Yugi shaking as well, obviously affected by the Rod. Bakura made his best effort to focus back on what was happening, not letting go of Marik's writhing body for a moment. And then, he saw the Leader with the scepter walk closer, and almost lost it.

Bakura, barely managing to contain his anger, stared up at the leader with the rod, which appeared to be torturing Marik. When the man with the Rod came close enough, Bakura reluctantly let go of Marik and stood to face his enemy.

With a background of pained screams, Bakura narrowed his eyes at the man whose face he could not see.

"Put it down." He said, simply, knowing well enough what he would do if his order was not obeyed.

"Welcome home, Nehti. We weren't expecting you so early." An eerily familiar voice answered him from behind the cloak. For a second time that day, Bakura's heart froze over, but this time it wasn't because of hurt…it was because of fear-an emotion not even the bravest of men could induce on him. But it wasn't because of the eerie name the man had called him…it was because of something else…

"This is a wonderful opportunity, my son…Since Nehti is here, you will perfect your powers with the Rod, and you shall need me no longer…" the cloaked figure from the leader's right said in an eager, almost happy tune.

"What is this?" Bakura fought to keep down his unexplainable wild, irate fear "Who are you people? Why do you call me that?" he asked, not even willing to say that name, which gave him goosebumps, for some reason.

"We are the Rare Hunters." One of the cloaked men answered him and another continued the statement "We are the ones who guard the Tomb"

"Yes…we are the GOULS who find rare mind slaves, aren't we?" the right-hand-man commented again. He was probably the leader's father, if his words from before could be taken into account.

"Don't you remember, Nehti? We found _you_." The man with the golden Rod teased and suddenly twisted his Rod in what looked like a hurtful manner, eliciting longer and even more painful screams from Marik's part.

"Stop it! You're killing him!" Serenity screamed from the side, desperate to stop this torture.

"Oh that's not true…It can't kill him…Can it, Marik?" the leader teased in what seemed like a derisive tone, again in that strangely familiar voice that froze Bakura's insides. "Tell her, Jou…tell your sister it won't kill him." The man with the Rod suddenly said, and Serenity's face contorted into a mask of terror, as she saw one of the imposing figures lower the hood and reveal the face behind…

The brother of her dreams, with his warm mocha skin and pretty golden hair…so tall and strong…and his eyes…so fathomless and dead. "It won't kill him, Seren." He said in a robotic voice, as though hypnotized.

Serenity took a step back, obviously horrified "Joey…JOEY! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?"

"They've made me see the light. Don't you understand, Seren? Everything is perfect, now. Clean and orderly. Order is the most important thing. You trust me, don't you, little sister?" Joey questioned with a crazed gleam now adorning his eyes, but still with a zombie-like voice. Serenity, faced with the sneer of her own brother, the very one she'd been trying to save all along, didn't even think of what she was doing when she dived behind Bakura, clutching his shoulder. It didn't matter who he was now- evil or good, friend or foe… all that mattered was that he wasn't one of…one of _them_!

For his part, Bakura didn't seem to notice. He just stared first at Joey and then at the leader. Marik's screams tore through the ear, deafening them all with their volume.

"Vocal, isn't he?" the Leader teased once more, making the vein on Bakura's forehead throb.

"Let. Him. Go." Bakura said through his gritted teeth.

"And why should he, when all he's good for is to ruin people's plans?" a female voice said, and her figure let down the hood, revealing long platinum curls falling over blank purple eyes.

"Miss Mai!" Tea nearly screetched at the sight of a soulless, cold face which was once full and smiling and young. "Ho-How…when…why did you…? What about your kids?" she asked, but Mai didn't seem to hear her voice, much less the nature of her questions.

"Resistance is futile. You'll become one of us very soon, much like the rest of them." A figure said, and let the hood drop, revealing Bandit Kith's blond head, his blue eyes bottomless and unclean.

"You will become one of us."

"You will know order."

Two men said consequently and each let his hood drop, revealing the familiar faces of Joey's two best pals…Tristan and Duke.

"Duke!" Serenity called in agony "Not you too! Tristan!

Now, almost all the hoods were down, and Bakura simply stared, unbelieving and unwittingly startled as he saw all the people they'd met in their journey be revealed. More hoods fell, more faces revealed. Some Bakura didn't recognize, others he did, like those of a few KaibaGuards from KC Base, or the familiar persona of Maximillian Pegasus, the 3D game inventor from Yango. Even _he _was one of them.

But all pretences fell when the last of the cloaked people dropped their hoods, only to reveal a familiar bald head and darkened, blanc green eyes. But it was not only Rishid- it was Rika, and Lena, and Taichi, and Kenji too. Each and every one of them: a soulless walking zombie. A puppet of the puppet-master, whose strings were gold and had a glowing eye on them.

And in the background of all this, Marik's screams of "Why?" could be heard. How he must feel, Bakura wondered, now that he saw his brother betray him by standing in the ranks of the enemy. Now that Rishid was there…what would Marik think or do? Most importantly, what would Bakura do? Bakura, who had to think for both of them now.

Now only two people remained hooded. The Leader and his 'father'. What was happening…why? What was that Rod? Bakura didn't know, but he understood it was time to act instead of talk. Now was the time to show what he always believed in: power.

Not thinking before he acted, Bakura lunged at the leader, attempting to grab the Golden Rod, which was still pointed at Marik. But when he made to move, he saw the leader turn the Rod towards _him_ and at once, he felt pain- pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before, threatening to split his cranium in two and spill his brains out to the stone floor. It was what he felt when Marik ordered him to do something, only a hundred times harsher.

He fell to the floor with a thud, not believing what was happening and how he could be defeated so easily by one single tin stick. He made to stand up, but realized that he couldn't. Some unearthly will was holding him back.

Well, at least the Rod was now turned toward _him_ and not Marik, he thought, somewhere in the back of his defiled mind. At least Marik wasn't hurting any more…

"You control it flawlessly, young one." The hooded father said, taking a step forward, towards Bakura and Marik, who were fallen one above the over, like a pile of trash thrown to the garbage. "I don't have anything else to teach you…you're powerful enough. The holograms are the hardest it can get to control." He said, and from the side, Bakura heard Serenity ask what he meant, but the father didn't answer.

Suddenly, from the side was heard a voice, familiar and cold- a cruel baritone to match all the others. "Good job, Ishrat. The Masters will be pleased." Bakura and Marik didn't know who the newcomer was, since they couldn't see him from their position, but they did see the leader's father turn towards the voice. And then, all their confusion was solved by Serenity's screech, high and horrified: "KAIBA!"

"You were right after all…" Kaiba told the Ishrat father half-bitterly, half-amusedly as he walked into Bakura and Marik's line of vision. The moment he saw Kaiba, Marik remembered, through his hazy consciousness, how much he didn't miss him. The long, unchanged silver trenchcoat. The leather buckles on the arms. The tall boots and the icy eyes. The almost plastic-like hair, always flawlessly adjacent to the head…Kaiba never changed, did he? Not even a little. "They _are_ predictable." He finished his sentence and sent an amused glare at the lying Marik.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Marik really wanted to spit at him, but he knew the rules of gravity would defy him. Besides, he didn't have the stamina to do it.

"Kill him now." Kaiba told the leader with the Rod.

"Easy Kaiba." The leader said "You're not the one who gives the orders around here" he said, and turned the golden Rod towards the tall man, making him gasp and clutch at his head "_I_ am."

"Yes…yes…." Kaiba started muttering and stepped back into the ranks of the other cloaked figures, not daring to raise his eyes. Marik had to admit, it was highly unnerving watching Kaiba behave like that. The man who held the Rod must have been really powerful, if he could control Kaiba like that. Nevertheless, to his credit, Kaiba didn't behave exactly like all the other zombie mind-slaves…he was somehow strangely different…he seemed more conscious of what he was saying and doing.

Meanwhile, by turning the Rod towards Kaiba, the leader had unwittingly released Bakura, who lost no time in pouncing at the tall man, struggling to knock the Rod away from his hands, only to succeed in pulling at the man's cloak and earning a flash of gold before being pulled away be the other 'Rare Hunters'.

And then, the torture of the Rod was back, but this time, it was accompanied by the faraway screams of Serenity, Tea and Yugi alike. He wanted to ask them why they were screaming and what they were saying, he wanted to know what had happened, but when he opened his eyes, all he could see was blackness and pain.

And then, there was a scream from his right, and he realized Marik was screaming too. He wondered what was happening, and struggled to clear his vision, trying to understand what was going on, just to help Marik, if not for anything else. Now he heard Serenity and Tea whimper, and he recognized distant mutters, as though they were whispering something he couldn't hear.

"Well, this may prove troublesome" the leader's voice commented dryly, and Bakura almost laughed out his derisiveness "I didn't want to reveal my identity unless absolutely necessary…but it's all right. You'll all die here, anyway." And to these words he laughed cruelly, his insane guffaw ringing in Bakura's ears. Finally, Bakura realized why everyone was screaming. It was the leader's face that had startled them- the face he had revealed by pulling down the leader's hood yet never got a chance to see. Now, even more than before, Bakura fought to regain his vision and stop the echoes of laughter from driving him crazy.

"You never were a right one." He heard the leader's voice say, and more screams wrung from the distance "Right clones never have memories….but you did, didn't you? You were all wrong, from the disgusting moment you were born, till the moment you will finally die…"

Marik's hoarse cries followed, and Bakura realized it was the tanned boy the leader had been talking to.

"Why couldn't you just suck it up and die when you were supposed to! HUH!" the leader's voice was now getting high, crazed and incredibly familiar to Bakura's ears. He'd heard that desperate crying voice before…he knew who it belonged to…he knew…

"But don't worry…You _will_ die…You were a parasite all along. Father was wrong in his judgment to let you live, but I'll make that mistake right…When a clone is flawed, he must be thrown apart, like garbage…And that's exactly what you are: flawed- a flawed replica. So I must finish what my father started…I'm the one who should do it…I was born to do it all along: to take your place, and succeed where you never could…You've been searching for your memory, right? You want to know your destiny,right? Make Nehti live again, isn't that what you want? Well too bad, _brother,_ because the Fates have already cut your thread!"

And then, finally, Bakura managed to open his eyes and see. And see he did, for the face of his dreams was hovering above him, a foreign crazed gleam shining in the lilac eyes. The face that kept his ring warm during the dark nights, the face he'd spent hours studying and observing…the beautiful, cherubic face, framed by hair of the finest platinum and with eyes of the most expensive amethyst.

Of course he knew that voice. How could he not, when he so often dreamt about it singing his name in the cries of passion? He knew the face that was hovering above him, a flawless replica of the one that twisted in pleasure when appearing in his dreams.

Marik's face. Marik's face, behind the Leader's Rod.

**a/n: WOOOOOAHHH! I believe we're getting somewhere! Major plot bunny in this chappy, guys, as you probably realized. I'm finally over the god-damn writer's block. Well, see you next week, when I'll hopefully post the next chapter! **

**But no worries, coz now I'm on vacation, and I'm gonna make it up to you the best I can! Every Sunday there will be an update from now till the end of the summer. Rewind 1 will be finished this summer, if it's the last thing I'll do!-gets glossy determined shine in her eyes-**

**I especially liked this chapter. I think it portrays the character's of the novel's heroes in the right way. If there's one thing I love it's writing Bakura. Oh my God, I LOVE writing about Bakura's emotions, and how absolutely intricate and feral they are.**


	17. Electrocute

**Heya! I'm back, sooner than expected! Just so we clear things up, this chapter is TOO long. TOO long even for my standards. In order to write it, I woke up at nine and slept at midnight. And before you ask, yes, I was writing the whole day long, except for two bathroom pauses. I missed my meals and ate my food after midnight. Thus, PLEASE REVIEW! I'd advise reading it in two or three sittings, in order not to get a headache. **

**IMPORTANT: confusion**

**Just to help you with reading this, I'm gonna tell you this: do not, I repeat, DO NOT expect to understand EVERYTHING that you read in here at once. It's meant to be a bit scrambled. Just read it, draw your conclusions, agonize (!), and more answers will come in later chaps. **

**MORE IMPORTANT: the name Nehti**

**I will use the name 'Nehti' in here multiple times, about Bakura. It may be confusing at first, but the next chaps will clear it up. Please don't be mislead into thinking this is some sort of perverted self-insertion Mary Sue. My penname may be Nehti, but I got the name idea from Rewind 1. I am not inserting myself in the story. I'm using 'Nehti' as the name of a character, but after a few chapters, you'll see it won't be so overused anymore.**

**OKAY. GOOD LUCK WITH THIS. IT'S PRETTY SICK. **

**REVIEW ANSWERS IN THE END OF THE ENDLESS PAGE. **

**P.S: RATING IS UP TO 16+…I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARY, PERSONALLY. A 13-YEAR-OLD CAN FREELY READ IT. THE THING IS, IS A BIT STRICT WITH THE RATINGS, AND WE GOTTA BE CAREFUL…**

Marik finally knew pain. He knew torture when he looked at that god-awful Rod. He finally understood what pure hurt meant, rolling down his back in strings of red. He was still vaguely conscious of what was happening around him. Bakura was back, now lying next to him, possibly unconscious. The mere thought of such a possibility infuriated Marik enough to allow him to keep his consciousness.

But the Leader was cruel, and his golden Rod powerful, and Marik's scars oozed blood more than any other time, as if trying to carve themselves out of his body and through his tissues. He saw the dark figures be revealed one by one, through his hazy tortured brain. He heard Serenity scream something at the appearance of a blonde man with brown eyes, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

He saw all of them reveal themselves, all random faces they'd met in their journey, Pegasus, Mai, Tristan , Duke. But the peak of betrayed pain came when Marik saw the familiar face of the man he considered his brother. Rishid. Why was Rishid here? Why were Rika, Lena and the others here? Most importantly, why were they with _them?_

Marik couldn't hear specific words, but since the Leader's Rod was periodically pointed to others, like Bakura, Marik finally got a chance to regain his balance and understand that Rishid and the others hadn't willingly betrayed them…they seemed to be in some kind of a trance, staring with blank eyes at the void.

But Marik couldn't think extensively about anything, when his lungs were burning for breath and the aftershocks of the Rod's electric power were shooting through his spine. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Marik knew, he would be paralyzed at the end of this pain.

And then, the cold voice came, accompanied with the frosty blue eyes- Kaiba's eyes. Things happened, people shouted, Bakura breathed heavily next to him, but Marik couldn't understand what was going on, not when the crucifying pain was still as bright as lightning before his eyes.

As if this torture wasn't enough, the Leader suddenly turned to him, pointing the golden scepter back at him and flailing it around, forcing Marik's back to twist in the same direction as the Rod. Marik screamed, he screamed with all the power of his lungs, and he heard more screams echoing above him, but his eyes were closed and he couldn't understand why the others were chorusing his doleful cries.

But the Leader's voice –the same voice of the cloaked man that had led them to Kuru Eruna- was now screaming too, shouting things hysterically, obviously trying to be heard above Marik's screams.

"….always a wrong one….flawed clone…your memories….make Nehti live…_brother" _was all Marik could understand out of the Leader's words through the frenzy of his pain. At some point at the end of the torturer's speech, a pain so strong shot through Marik, that he opened his eyes in reflex and _howled_ like an animal, completely carnal and brutal.

He knew he was hallucinating when he saw his own reflection staring down at him. It was like watching his reflection in the mirror, only holding the Rod. Marik hated himself so much so as to conjure hallucinations of his own body torturing him, apparently.

"WHAT ARE YOU!" Marik heard the hoarse, familiar voice roar from his left, and realized it was Bakura who was shouting. Marik saw himself laugh amusedly and twirl the Rod in his fingers, a crazed spark lighting the lilac eyes. Begrudgingly, Marik finally registered where he'd heard that familiar-yet-not-quite voice. He'd heard it every time he opened his mouth, reverberating through his lungs.

But this was impossible! He must be hallucinating! This was not logical! It couldn't be himself up there, holding the Rod and sneering. And then, as if hit by a stab of reality, a thunder of pain hit Marik's head, and he left all thoughts to a whirlpool of nothingness.

Bakura, who was temporarily relieved of the Rod's power, focused on conjuring all his mental strength in order not to collapse on the spot. He started clawing at the stone floor with his scratched nails, willing the dizziness to stop, fully aware that he must have looked like a squashed bug in this state. Unfortunately, he had to admit in his hazy mind, feeling absolute pain in life was better from not feeling anything at all in death.

Ryou's sleeping consciousness, still lethargic in his mind, gave him the comfort of companionship, even at this critical moment. The warmth of Ryou's heart, beating in Bakura's ribcage, was a greater reminder of all things good than Bakura could ever ask for.

But his glee was short-lived as it seemed, since more unpleasant surprises were waiting for him yet. Leader-Marik looked more psychotic than he imagined a human being could be. His face was not distorted and his hair was not raised up, like the effect Bakura had on Ryou's body. But Leader-Marik's face, even though exactly the same as the face of the Marik he knew, seemed unexplainably insane. The eyes weren't right, somehow…the mouth was curved awkwardly, unfamiliarly.

Apparently, at that moment, the leader's father thought it appropriate to reveal his identity also, not wanting to be the only one left with a hood, probably, Bakura thought with stale humor.

And the 'father's' hood fell, and Bakura suddenly thought that either this was some very strange, sick joke of Kaiba's or he really was having hallucinations, because he knew it was utterly crazy, if not impossible, to be faced not with one Marik-look-a-like, but two. The father also seemed to be Marik's twin, only twenty years older. He had a blond beard and a slightly different haircut, but the eyes were still the same. Bakura really wanted the Earth to split up and swallow him at that moment, wondering idly if it was possible for him to be so obsessed with Marik that he saw his face everywhere he looked, now.

"Joey!" Serenity's scream suddenly tore through the already overloaded air "What's wrong with you! Do something! Joey! JOEY!"

"Serenity, calm down!" Yugi frantically, called, trying to restrain her from doing something completely foolhardy. But it was too late, since the old-Marik, or 'father's' dark lilac eyes were already focused on her. He didn't say anything, only stared at her silently, as though honestly curious about what she would do next.

"Joey! Mai is here! Look at her! Mai, what about your kids! What about Zora? Mai, please! LISTEN TO ME!" Serenity hollered at top capacity, kicking and flailing around like a wild animal. "Joey, is this why I've been looking for you? Is this my brother that I've longed for all these years! Joey, I believe in you! Please!"

But Joey's figure was as still as that of a statue, his eyes dark and unearthly. Not even his little finger twitched at Serenity's words. Seeing his unresponsiveness, Serenity turned to the next target of her ire.

"What have you done to him, you heartless freak!" she screamed at a smirking Kaiba's direction. Marik's screams were still in the background, but the only one who seemed to notice them anymore were the crazed Leader and Bakura. Kaiba and the older of the two Marik replicas, the bearded one, smirked. It was strange to see Kaiba so…alive…while standing in the circle of motionless faces. What was it that made him so special, even though he seemed to be just another mind-slave?

"Miss Wheeler. Ahh…of course. I remember." Kaiba remarked casually, his usual scathing tone not residing in the least. Bakura suddenly got the urge to pound him dead, not that he hadn't experienced the feeling before. Too bad the albino was still partially unconscious, due to the Rod's attack from before.

"Foolish girl." Kaiba continued with his rant, while the Marik 'father' kept snorting and shaking his head, as though reprimanding Serenity and all her friends. He didn't seem as crazed as the younger Marik Leader, but he did seem insane enough to be considered dangerous, at least in Bakura's standards.

"I always knew of your origins." Kaiba said, and watched Serenity's eyes widen in horrified surprise "Did it pass your lilliputian brain even for a moment that I didn't know you came from Earth?" he sneered at her, and Bakura got a constricting feeling of foreboding, while staring helplessly at Marik, whose voice had now become thick and hoarse from the screams, like the yowls of a crying dog.

"That's why I even hired you in the first place. I knew of your brother and your obsession with him. I knew where I'd find you if you escaped my grasp in Mercury. You're so predictable, Wheeler. To even think we wouldn't track you down. Idiot woman, we've known where you were and what you were doing all along!"

"Exactly." The Leader's father spat at Serenity's petrified face, seemingly enjoying the whole group's startled silence "We've known what you've been doing. Our mind slaves are everywhere" to this, he motioned around the circle of the Rare Hunters, indicating their familiar faces "Everywhere you went, we knew exactly what you were up to. We were practically the ones who controlled your entire course of action! "At this he smiled with mortifying glee "And those who weren't already in our circle…" he let the statement trail on, and Bakura thought he saw his eyes slip momentarily at Rishid' s direction "we _made_ them join."

Tea, apparently over all inhibition and driven solely by disbelieving fear, spoke up "What have you done to these people!" she inquired in a near-whisper, obviously feeling it would express her true dread much more than any scream could, at this point. "What does Serenity's brother have to do with anything?" she asked.

Kaiba snorted in a derisive tone, obviously scorning Tea's intelligence. Seriously, hadn't she caught on by now? "But to lure the Wheeler girl here, of course. We knew that she wanted to find her brother for ages. It was only natural to make him one of us…it was a stable investment. We'd find Wheeler someday, if we had her brother."

"And Mai? And Rishid? And Lena?" Yugi cut in anxiously "Why them? Where do they fit in your schemes?"

"Were do you think, you midget fool?" Kaiba exclaimed, obviously annoyed at the interrogation, but answering nonetheless "Everyone who knows of the Operation must die! Including you!"

Meanwhile, Bakura was lying prostrate on the floor, fully aware of Marik's unceasing torture beside him. The albino had finally managed to regain his consciousness fully and the dizziness in his head had almost resided. Almost. He thought it best to wait for the opportune moment and not reveal his sober state yet. What was wrong with Yugi and the others, anyway? What were they doing, chatting with Kaiba when Marik was practically dying? Marik, who had no voice to scream any longer, and was closing his eyes in a resigned coma of pain by now.

Bakura, for once in his life, analyzed the situation beforehand. The Leader had his Rod pointed at Marik, not him. Which meant that if Bakura moved fast enough, he'd startle the Leader and make him drop his golden magic wand. And then, everything would be peachy. He'd pound all these suckers to the ground, as long as he was out of the Rod's energy beam.

"You're the Mastermind here, aren't you? You're Ishrat!" Dark Yugi, who had taken control of Yugi's body roared at the Leader's father while pointing an accusing finger at him. The man with the platinum beard practically roared in sadistic laughter, enjoying the lordly determination in Yugi's eyes, which he would enjoy wiping out later.

"HAHAHAHA! You always were a funny one, weren't you, Atem?" he barked out pleasantly, watching Dark Yugi facefault.

"What did you say?" the Game King inquired, now more eager for answers than any other time.

"Of _course_ I'm _not_ the mastermind! You of all people should know this!" the Father barked again, while laughing.

"If not you, then who is it?" Serenity inquired wildly "Who's your master?"

But the old man didn't answer that question, since he was distracted by a silver hurricane moving in front of him. The Marik Leader, who'd been so viciously focusing all his power in making Marik _hurt_ was terribly unprepared for Bakura's attack. Bakura, who'd taken the exact moment when everyone was preoccupied with their stupid conversations to notice him.

Thus, the Leader didn't have the time to turn his Rod toward Bakura when he pounced upwards. Everyone was too surprised to react, and Bakura took his perfect chance to land a solid kick at the Leader's ribs. Bakura tried with all his might not to let the fact that the man he was fighting looked like his friend affect him.

Just as Bakura had predicted, the Leader reflexively let go of his glowing metallic rod –which fell on Marik- in an effort to clutch his ribs, but Bakura didn't give him time to think. He whirled around and gave him a crochet with enough force to shatter his jaw, making the man stagger backwards and collide with his now overactive father.

"Quick, you idiot!" the father roared at the son, pushing him away from him and towards a panting, blood-fetished Bakura "Control him!"

The Leader closed his frantic violet eyes and brought his hand towards Bakura as though trying to cast a curse, or something. Bakura knew what was coming- this would be another mind attack, probably similar to the ones his friend Marik kindly granted him sometimes. But nothing happened. Bakura waited a few moments, and when he realized he wasn't feeling anything, took the wonderful chance to land a punch at a completely defenseless opponent, sending him flying to the floor.

"Father!" the Leader shouted, sounding more and more unlike his sadistic proud self, and more like a cowardly powerless brat "I can't control him without the Rod!" he roared helplessly, and Bakura smiled, baring his suddenly over-pronounced fangs for all to see. But it wasn't meant to be another wonderful moment of hitting the Leader, since he was now attacked by the Rare Hunter zombies from all directions.

He kicked Tristan and swirled around just in time to avoid an upcoming hit from Mai's hyper-arms. With a round-house-kick, he landed a satisfying crack on Joey's elbow, making the man yell in pain.

"Idiot!" the Father grumbled through gritted teeth "Why must I do everything by myself?" but Bakura didn't manage to hear him, worrying in stead for the Rod's location and who would grab it first. He hoped Serenity and the others had the good sense to pick it up, but that's when he saw Serenity, Tea and Yugi being held back by Rishid, Taichi and Kenji.

Bakura, distracted as he was, received an especially steel-hard punch up his chin, which made him land face first on the floor. He whirled around in ire, only to realize it was Kaiba Seto's solid mass that was towering over him.

"Damn you!" Bakura growled in aggravation and jumped to his feet, starting a sequence of crazed kicks towards Kaiba, who unleashed his fare share of elbow-hits on Bakura's ribs, his face a curious mask of nonchalance; he was not even panting for god-sakes!

"Take the Rod!" the Leader's father shouted from somewhere Bakura couldn't see, attacked as he was from all directions. He managed to land a hit on Kaiba's cheek, but the knuckles of his hand almost broke altogether, when he met cold steel on Kaiba's face, where normal skin tissue should have normally been.

"What the f-" he started saying, but had no time to finish the sentence, since Kaiba had grabbed his throat with a literally steel grip.

Bakura clawed at the offending hands, but Kaiba didn't seem to feel anything, until finally the albino managed to land a kick on the CEO's stomach and cause Kaiba to convulse by reflex, letting him go.

"I can't touch it! I can't approach-" the Leader's voice shot out in answer to his Father's order.

Bakura rose to his feet and decided the most strategic option in this case would be getting away from Kaiba and dealing with the weaker ones first. With an unnaturally high roll jump, Bakura flew out of the way just in time to miss Duke's hit.

Pegasus was suddenly standing in his way and Bakura immediately granted him a fist the moment he saw him. Them focused again on finding the Rod. He had to get it, before the Leader managed to touch it again, and ruin everything.

"Take that! And that!" Bakura suddenly heard, and turned around to see Serenity with the leather leash of her outfit, hitting anyone she saw, except maybe Kaiba, who she was afraid of.

"I'll show you manners!" Tristan suddenly challenged Bakura and came at him with a full frontal punch. Bakura ducked, but he wasn't fast enough and couldn't avoid the scratch on his upper arm, which forced out a trail of blood.

"MARIK!" Bakura heard Tea's terrified cry and turned around to see what was happening, distracted. Tristan got his chance to kick Bakura in the ribs, making him fall to his knees.

"Aargh!" Bakura howled in pain and was forced to kneel.

But he had seen what Tea was screaming about. Marik was still lying on the floor the way Bakura had left him, only now he had the Rod lying on his chest, and what seemed like electric sparks enveloping both him and the Rod.

"Grab it!" the Leader's father roared once again to his son, who desperately shouted back " I can't! It'll kill me!" he was standing above Marik's shining body with his hands over his eyes, obviously waiting for a chance to take the Rod.

That was when Joey hit Bakura between the shoulder blades with his knee, bringing a blinding pain to Bakura's mouth, forcing him to yell. Had his shoulder been dislodged? It did feel torturous enough, but Bakura knew, through his fuzzy brain, that it wasn't possible.

The albino saw Duke raise his hyper-armed fist above him, the blades protruding from his knuckles shining precariously in the now blue light of the wall inscriptions. By the way, when had the lights turned back to blue?

Bakura didn't have much time to think, all kinds of confused notions flying through his head, for example, he started wondering if he was really going to die, if his head would be dislodged from his throat, or simply pulverized, if he'd ever get to ask Marik what the hell was happening…

He saw doom approach as Duke started to bring his hand down, and Bakura fought not to close his eyes, since he had no power to escape.

'MIND CRUSH!" was what Bakura heard. He saw Duke's eyes widen and his limp, knocked-out body fall to the floor, revealing behind him a very pissed Game King, who had just, literally, _crushed his head_ with a long metal stick of unknown origin.

"You okay, maniac?" he asked, tiredly, before he was attacked by other mind-slaves.

"I was doing fine without your help, _your highness_." Bakura bitterly said, taking over the fight with Yugi's opponents. He would never openly admit that the other Darkside had probably just saved Ryou's skin, if not his life.

"Yeah, yeah…spare me the praises, will you?"

But there were too many of them, now that Rishid, Taichi and Kenji had been added to the enemy ranks. And they all seemed subhuman and dead and immune to most physical attacks. Then Kaiba showed up, with his untouchable skin, and Bakura knew they needed help, right now. More importantly, they needed Marik, because even though Yugi was good with basic punches and his notorious 'Mind Crush' attack, he could never execute the experienced combos Marik knew.

'C'mon, dammit!' Bakura thought frantically as he fought Pegasus all over again, avoiding Kaiba once more 'What's going on with the Rod?'. And he turned around to see a now mutely screaming Marik, enveloped in electrical waves, but not electrocuted, somehow. Bakura's heart stopped.

"Shit! MARIK!" he yelled at his friend and ran towards his Marik's body, only to intercepted by a very irate Leader, his lilac eyes sparkling mysteriously in the blue light.

"What's happening to him!" Bakura roared at the other, trying with all his might not to be affected by the soft curves of Marik's jaw on the Leader's face.

"I was hoping you'd tell me." The Marik-look-alike responded in a menacing, dangerously low voice.

"AARGH!" Bakura's battle cry was reflected from the walls and ground like bells' echo. And then, he and the Leader were engaged in a brutal fist-fight, the Leader matching Bakura's notorious demon-spiral pace flawlessly.

Unfortunately, Bakura realized, those extraordinary combos of Marik's were now turned against him, since what could only be Marik's twin brother was seemingly as experienced in physical fighting as Marik himself.

The Leader's Father was nowhere to be seen, and Bakura was subconsciously getting more and more worried about being hit on the back by someone. But, apparently, Yugi was doing a fair job on the back, using the only combo he knew, to 'crush' everybody's head without killing them, somehow.

Bakura finally managed to hit the leader's face with a full frontal punch.

"You, know, " he said fleetingly "sometimes I really wanted to do that" he finished, referring to the general concept of hitting Marik's face.

The Leader wiped the blood from his lips on the sleeve of his long cloak and granted Bakura the most intense malicious glare the albino had seen, except of course for his own, which was unsurpassable.

"We never should have let Kaiba take you for the experiment." The Leader concluded darkly, while pushing the purple cloak over his head, revealing a black tank top and beige pants. "I'll kill you now."

Bakura smirked, letting out another string of punches and kicks, swirling around and hitting in any way he could.

But Ryou's body's stamina was fading fast, and his worry about Marik was gnawing at his insides. Tea's screams at Marik didn't help, since Bakura eventually got distracted and received a series of hits from his opponent's part. Bakura raised his eyes, finally beaten down to the floor. The Leader was above him, smiling at him with that serene, extremely insane smile.

"Goodbye, Nehti." He said simply, the eager craze in his eyes growing to dangerous proportions.

Bakura knew he would be knocked out after this, and there was no Yugi or Marik to help him this time. He'd be knocked out, and everybody would be killed except him, and he'd end up alone again, in his dark, golden prison. But physical laws didn't help him, no matter how strong his emotion was. The energy he had unleashed on Ryou's body and the continuous strain he had inflicted on it would not allow the body to respond to his mental commands as fast. And speed, along with agility had always been his advantage in fighting.

"He'll miss you while he lives." The enemy sneered at him and started to move against Bakura's already blood covered face, and Bakura realized, belatedly, that they would all die and he wouldn't even get the chance to enjoy the semblance of a life he'd found with Marik, not even for a while.

Marik was lying supine on the floor, his eyes wide and unseeing, flashes of a death from long ago attacked him, memories he thought had been lost. His head swung around and his limbs flailed as though he was a raving lunatic. Tea's screams were far away, and so were Bakura's battle cries. Now all that mattered was the shock of electricity he felt hit him, his nerves stretching out to thorns as flashbacks attacked him one after the other…

"_Father! Please! Stop!" the girl with the ebony hair begged, her beige skirts twirling around her sparkling sapphire eyes._

"_Shut up, Isis! Learn your place as a woman!" the man with the blond beard- his father- shouted at her, and slapped her roughly on the face, making her take several steps back, her eyes wide and moist and tearful. "This scum must be punished for what he's done! He's the one responsible for your Mother's death!"_

"_Nee-san…." A young blond boy appeared in the threshold of the house, watching with wide eyes the red-littered floor of the living room, his mother's corpse lying on the corner, next to the trashed television set. "MOTHER!"_

"_Marik!" the boy's sister cried in fright, rushing forward to cover the virgin eyes of her innocent brother "Don't watch, Marik! Don't look!" she said, trying to bury her brothers wide eyes against her bosom, trying to muffle her brother's ears from the screams of their trusty servant, Odion, who was now being whipped to death on the floor, by their own Father._

"_Marik? Good, you're here. You're next. You, also, must be punished…"_

"_STOP!" the cobalt-eyed woman shouted "He's only a child!"_

"_KAA-SAN! (mother)" Marik kept crying desperately, trying to shake off Isis's embrace and see for himself the horror he had only fleetingly witnessed._

"_Only a child! The 'child' had known all along!" the Father barked at the frightened girl "He knew and didn't tell me! Isn't that right you little brat! You'll pay for your distrust!"_

"_Kaa-san…" Marik know kept crying, his hands fisting in Isis's soft beige sweater "Kaa-san…" his muffled voice whimpered, not even hearing his Father's accusation._

_The freakish sound of the whip being brought down on skin echoed in the room, and next came Odion's anguished cry, his dark hair whipping around his bloodied face like a halo. Odion, the young servant they had hired not more than a year ago…a soft-spoken young man with sparkling eyes and chestnut hair. Now he was lying prone on their red-stained living room carpet, whip-marks crisscrossing on his back._

"_ODION!" Isis cried desperately, earning a string of sadistic guffawing from her father "Die you insolent! Die!"_

"_Father, no! Stop!" Isis tried desperately, her tears falling freely down her cheeks as she tried fruitlessly to stop the inevitable. Her eyes fought to stay away from her mother's defiled body, but it was no use, she looked at it against the will, and let out a pained howl._

"_Don't look, Marik…don't look" she cried through her sobs, her heart and lungs swelling to breathe, as though there was an iron bar pulling them down. She knew she had to take Marik and leave that place right then, if she wanted to survive. But she was paralyzed; her legs wouldn't obey her. She knew he'd come after them…he'd track them down…and kill them- his own children. Just like he'd killed his wife._

"_Slimy scum!" their father roared at the shrieking victim, kicking Odion's sides mercilessly "Thought you could seduce my wife and get away with it, did you!"_

_Another whip slash -a scream- and Isis knew why her conscious wouldn't let her move. She couldn't let him die there. She wouldn't. Slowly, she bent down to Marik and whispered in the trembling boy's ear "Marik…I want you to listen to me very carefully…all right?" she asked in a whisper, feeling Marik's chubby head nod at her quickly, his wide sky-blue eyes blinking up at her, his short golden hair sparkling so innocently at the sunlight that filtered through the red-stained windows. _

"_I want you to…Marik, listen to me!" she urged, as she realized that her five-year-old brother's eyes had strayed again to their mothers corpse, watching it as if expecting it to stand up and speak any second now " I want you to go up to your room, lock the door and close your eyes, okay? Can you do that, Marik? Up to your room, lock the door and close your eyes. Okay? For me."_

_Once her brother nodded, she looked up to her father, who was still whipping his late wife's secret lover. When Isis made sure their father was too distracted to look at her, she pushed Marik away and mouthed for him to run. The little boy stared numbly at the commotion, but then saw Isis's desperate grimaces for him to run and finally obeyed her orders. Always the faithful boy to trust his sister, Marik ran upstairs as fast as he could across the hall, past his parents' ruffled bedroom and into his and Isis' room. He grabbed the door and closed it, turning the key with shaking hands and wide, clear-blue, shining eyes, with specks of gold in them._

_Obeying his sister's orders word by word, he shut his ears and sat down, waiting, his teeth biting his lower lip and wondering when it would be that his mother would clean herself from all the red stains –she hated having stains on anything, much less her clothes- and come up to tell him he could come downstairs again, and play with Isis. He looked at the wall, at the golden Egyptian ornament his Isis had given him, saying it symbolized their family's deep roots from Egypt. He blinked at it owlishly with his huge eyes, watching the golden rings clink but unable to hear their sweet sound because of his closed ears._

_From downstairs, the brunette girl heard her brother's footfalls on the staircase and smiled a bittersweet smile, She wasn't so sure she would see him again…but she wanted the best for him. Her heart constricted in pain at the thought she'd probably not be there to see him grow up, not there to hug him and read bedtime stories to him. Not there the first time he'd fall in love._

_But she couldn't; wouldn't let her father kill again. Her eyes freezing over with determination, she turned to her father's back._

"_Nobody fucks my wife except me! Nobody! Nobody turns my son against me!" he was screaming "Now it's your turn!"_

_Overly careful not to make any sound, Isis stood up gingerly and took a step backwards, her hands reaching out to grope the wall behind her. When she felt what she was searching for, she wrapped her hands around it, unleashing the golf club from its seethe on the wall. She prayed for God to forgive her for what she was about to do, but she couldn't allow a second murder, even if she had to commit one in order to prevent one. At least she was about to kill a murderer…her father._

_Not finding it in herself to cry, and choosing a determined expression instead, Isis slowly approached the back of her father's screaming head, her club raised up in an attack position. She was now no less than three feet away from her father. If she'd swing now, she'd hit him. She raised her club slowly, unbelieving of the fact that her father was so distracted that he didn't even notice her._

_She drew the tool back, starting to bring it down, when instead of blonde hair, her father's head whirled around and presented her with his burning, paranoid blue eyes. Biting back a scream of terror, she couldn't even gulp, much less move the club. Her father's gleaming eyes met her wide, horrified ones. She saw, as he smiled the homicidal smile she'd seen directed to her mother, and the next thing she knew was a suffocating grip around her throat._

"_Isis…" her father started saying, his back turned completely away from Odion now. He had Isis's throat in his grasp, squeezing it and lifting her from the ground, choking her "…you little bitch. Just like your mother!"_

_Isis felt her vision become blurry, red and yellow lights twirling in her eyes as she grabbed her father's hand on her throat, trying to dislodge it, but to no avail. She was losing her senses completely, her purple face revealing she was this close to chocking, when the grip let her fall down and a pained cry came from her father. Isis fell on her knees, panting frantically and cradling her misused neck, trying to bring back breath in her lungs._

"_You fuck! I'll show you!" her father screamed at Odion, who had apparently managed to hit his calf with a shard of glass lying on the floor. But Isis's father was much more powerful and robust than Odion, and the young man received the lethal hit with a knife, which was held securely in Father's belt. Normally, there were two of them, but the other had already been buried deep in Mother's chest._

"_NOOOOOOOOO!" Marik heard his sister's desperate cry. Not even a hundred hands over his ears could have muffled that sound. Terrified, Marik rushed under his bed, his eyes squeezed closed, his hands fisted in a stuffed animal's fur._

_He had stopped covering his ears now, and he could hear more screams, more desperate cries. Both his father's voice calling "You bitch!" and Isis's despondent wails could be heard, and then there were sounds Marik couldn't recognize, then another female scream, then silence._

_A few moments went past and Marik was trembling helplessly under his bed, his eyes and nose now buried into the soft teddy's belly. He heard his own desperate, panting breath and saw his small fingers grasp at anything available and squeeze._

_Silence. Deadly silence for a long time, until Marik heard some steady sound come from outside his locked door. Something coming from the stairs -his father's feet. The familiar brown leather boots were now hitting the carpet that his Mother hated having dirtied. The footfalls came in a steady, unhurried pace._

"_Maaarik…" the boy heard a sing-song sweet voice call. Many times had Marik wished he would look and sound like his father when he grew up. But his father had never sounded like this before, and Marik now thought that he didn't want anything to do with that voice, since it sent chills up his spine._

"_Oh, Maaarik…come'ere…I won't hurt you…Dad won't hurt you…you know that, right?" the increasingly loud voice sent a sugarcoated laugh, and Marik cowered deeper in the cover of his bed, now trembling more than ever. Where was Isis? Why wasn't she here to help him…why? This was all wrong! It wasn't supposed to be this way!_

_And the, the door of his room made a sound. Marik knew his father was trying to open it from the other side. "Marik, open up." His Father said, but Marik was afraid of that voice, having heard it scream and yell murderously. He didn't open his mouth to answer, and instead gritted his small teeth and squeezed his eyes further._

"_OPEN UP! " the voice was louder now and the hits on the door were becoming much harder "OPEN UP, YOU BRAT! I'LL SHOW YOU!" his father barked, and Marik's heart gave a painful lurch. He had to get out of there by himself, he realized. Isis wasn't coming to save him. His mother wasn't here anymore. Odion wouldn't open his arms and take him away on a piggyback ride this time._

_He had to get out on his own, he realized, as he saw the wooden door shake precariously. But how? How would he leave?_

_His wide eyes fell on the window, the very window he could not reach. It was made especially so he wouldn't be able to jump out of it when he was a baby. How would he get out? How would he escape? Wooden shards were now flying in all directions, since the door was breaking down. Marik's ears heard his father's enraged shouts, but, loudest of all, he heard his own heart, thumping in his small, childish chest._

_A fraction of the door broke down, and he could now see the better part of his father's torso through it. He could see the sledgehammer his father was using. He knew that that same hammer would have no mercy when crushing his own bones in punishment. There was no escape. He couldn't leave…but he could hide! But where to hide? His father knew this room, just as he knew the rest of the house…His father would find him…his father could run faster than he. Father had longer legs. He was stronger…more powerful._

_Sirens started echoing loudly in the distance, and his father's pounding on the door stopped abruptly._

"_The fucking neighbours!" Marik heard his father shout in distress, and then he resumed his pounding on the door. Marik didn't fully understand, but he did the only thing he could, rushing into the closet and locking himself in darkness while hearing his father's uneven hits. He saw the ladder in the closet, but knew he needed the appropriate key to open the hatch on the top of the closet ceiling, in order to reach the house's roof. Besides, he never could climb that ladder…his legs were too short…_

_The sirens got louder and his father's pounding more frantic, until Marik heard the wood of the door finally give in and fall to the floor. This was it. He was trapped. He heard his father walk in and vaguely saw his deranged figure through the small creak of the closet doors._

"_Maarik…" that same sweet tone from before "We don't have much time, Marik…come out, come out, wherever you are…"_

_It was a game they played often, but Marik didn't feel like playing now. He covered his mouth with his palm, feeling that his breath was just too loud in the stillness of the room._

_He had buried himself behind a stack of coats in the closet, but his father would find him in a second if he opened the wardrobe, Marik knew. The sirens were deafening now, and Marik saw his Father look hoarsely everywhere in the room, from under the bed and the desk to any other hiding place possible. He was this close to the closet, a hysterical look in his eyes. Marik pressed his palm against his mouth even harder, forcing himself to keep absolutely still. But then, as his father was about to open the doors, sounds were heard from the front door, along with the sirens, and the blond man backstepped. Someone had just broken into the house._

_A stampede of footsteps were hitting Mother's clean carpet, and Father came face to face with someone Marik couldn't see. Now the boy was even more afraid, knowing the black-clad men were with the police, but unable to react through his numbness. He watched fleetingly as his father's eyes widened in angst. The man ran to the window, pushing it open roughly and hanging one leg out of it, over the windowsill._

"_There he is! Get him!" Marik heard strangers yelling and saw them running to the window, but it was too late. His father had already jumped, probably hanging down the pipe next to the window, or falling onto the bush under it._

"_Quick! Outside!" the men shouted, and left the room. Marik waited in the closet for a long time, his hands wrapped around his knees tightly. He waited for what must have been hours and hours, until the voices stopped coming from downstairs and people stopped walking in his room, scaring him._

_It was night when he finally walked out of his closet, his small limbs aching because of the straining pressure they had undergone. He stepped outside gingerly. Carefully, he walked down the stairs, keeping his left hand on the handle so as not to collapse and tumble down. He reached the main hall and turned to go to the living room with shaky legs. The living room, where he had last seen Isis…and his mother. And Odion._

_But across the ceiling door was plastered a shiny yellow tape. There were yellow tapes in the kitchen too. Marik looked in the living room, but all he could see were dark stains on the floor, walls, windows…his mother and Odion weren't there any more. Nor was Isis. The stains were black in the night, but he knew they must be the red ones he saw that morning. Mom would sure be angry at all that dirtying. She loved cleanliness._

_But last time he'd seen her…Marik had been frightened…he didn't understand why her face was so white, her body so scathed…he didn't understand._

_His family wasn't there any more, so he'd have to wait for them. But when he checked for food, there was nothing left in the kitchen. Only yellow tapes and strange plastic bags containing cutlery were lying around._

_Marik knew the men would be back the next day, since they'd let their things here…And he was hungry. He could go to the neighbours…but he was afraid. Afraid of them. The kid next door had this big dog and if you stepped into the garden, it started barking at you and brandishing its teeth…_

_Marik gingerly walked out of the front door, which was left ajar- probably broken- and walked out to the yard. He saw the same yellow strips forming a rectangle around his house, as though creating a borderline. Slowly, Marik walked under the strips and into the open road. His sister and mother would come for him, he knew. All he had to do was find some food and go back to the house to wait for them._

_-_

_But his mother and sister didn't come looking for him. He stayed near his trashed house for many, many days, preying and doing whatever he could to summon his mother back. He told the words she'd instructed him to say when he felt sad 'There are always worse things in the world" and he sang the tune Isis always told him she loved. He thought that if he sung it often enough, she'd hear it and come to him._

_But they didn't come. And he was still hungry. He was afraid of the neighbours- not just the ones with the dog, but every neighbour. Because all the neighbours had fathers…and Marik didn't like fathers any more. He didn't like any grown-up any more…_

_The food he found in the garbage wasn't enough, though. He had to search farther, in other garbage cans. His mouth watered when he walked by a baker's store. His eyes narrowed in jealousy when he saw a dog or a bird eating greedily from their owners' hands or plainly from the street. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing. He only knew his mother and sister would come for him, eventually._

_He didn't let people see him. He was afraid of them, especially big men. He stayed in the shadows for the most part, near the cans where he could find food. He sang his sister's song whenever he couldn't sleep and told his mother's words aloud when he felt miserable and lonely, just so he could hear them out loud…but after a while, he couldn't understand their meaning any more. After a while, he began to hate them. Them and his sister's song._

_They had both left him, hadn't they? What could be worse than that in the world? What could be more saddening? The words had no meaning. There were no worse things than this._

_He watched little girls pounce around as their parents lavished them with gifts. He saw big sisters treating their siblings ice-cream…but he stayed in the shadows…away from all that. When people saw him in their garbage cans, they yelled at him to go away, calling him names, spitting at his feet. They didn't want a scumbag like him near their houses, they said._

_Sometimes, at night, as he walked by stores, he'd see bars over the glass displays of food and jewelry, and he'd feel jealous for no reason. He'd tried to steal bread sometimes, but his feet just weren't strong and fast enough, and his swollen belly hurt him every time he tried to run away. Besides, he was afraid. Afraid of big male shopkeepers and black-clad policemen. No. Better to starve than to be their victim._

_Until, one day, as he was bending silently over a nearby trashcan, his eyes darting back and forth to make sure no one was watching him, he heard a voice. The voice of a woman. No one had spoken to him directly without shouting at him for a while, and Marik was afraid at first, cowering in his comforting shadows. But the woman persisted, calling him sweet names and giving him bread. Marik looked at it in wonder, not believing he was offered such a vision. Immediately, his mouth started watering._

_He looked at the woman distrustfully, then back at the bread, with wonder. He hesitantly looked back at her shadowed features, but she smiled at him. "Go on." She said in her sweet voice, and Marik was reminded of his mother so suddenly that he felt like crying. Maybe this was her, just with a different voice! Maybe…she'd finally remembered him. _

_Not able to help himself any longer, Marik grabbed the slice of bread and started to devour it greedily. His stomach protested at the sudden magnanimous offer, but Marik gulped it down, uncaring and finally happy. After only a few bites, he felt full, as though Isis had just given him ten bowls of cereal, all in one sitting._

_The woman smiled at him. He stared back at her, in wonder. She was so, so very beautiful, her shiny hair cascading down her shoulders like cherubic veils, at least to Marik's eyes. Marik's own hair was shoulder-length now, but it had lost its sunshine quality, since he never washed or combed it. It was shabby and split-edged, just like the rest of him._

"_You poor thing…How old are you?" the fair woman asked him suddenly, and he looked at her half-eagerly, half suspiciously. Then he looked at his hands and started counting with his fingers, looking at each of his broken nails carefully. The woman smiled, watching him._

" '_m five…" he answered finally, after much consideration. He didn't even think that he was probably not five anymore. He hadn't been five in a while. But that didn't matter, because for him, time had stilled when he'd left his home._

"_Five? Hmm…what a big boy…" she commented in appraisal. Marik smiled at her with his endearing, big blue eyes "Mom always says I'll get bigger, so…"_

_Suddenly, as though her smile was completely make-believe, the woman scowled "Your mother?" she asked in perplexed confusion. Marik rushed to explain, not wanting to stop talking to her yet._

"_But she's gone now! And so is Isis and Odion and …Father…" he explained hurriedly, watching the light of understanding and …relief?…dawn in the woman's eyes._

"_Oh? How so?" she asked, and Marik really didn't understand the syntax she'd used, so she rephrased "Why are they gone?'_

_Marik looked at the floor, not knowing exactly why they'd gone either. He settled on the simple way he understood it "Dad was shouting at Mom one day, and then he made her dirty, and then Odion was dirty too…but Isis was afraid, and said I should go to my room. And then dad shouted and I didn't hear anything else. And after that I left, because everyone was gone, and there were yellow stuff everywhere…but dad wasn't there…"_

_The woman furrowed her brows, trying to understand what the child was trying to tell her, then gave up, seemingly satisfied with the explanation that 'everyone was gone' and 'I left the house'…She turned a radiant smile towards the child, who looked at her as though she was a seraphim on earth._

"_You're a very cute little boy. You know that…?"_

"_Marik" he filled her sentence, which was asking for his name._

"_Marik. What a pretty name. But you're all alone, aren't you?" she said, sadly, and as though her expressions were contagious he became sad too, and nodded._

"_You must be very hungry…Tsk, tsk, tsk…" she continued in that sad tone, looking pointedly at his belly and Marik nodded numbly, seeing it pointless to deny the obvious, and hoping he'd get more bread if he showed how desperate he was- a technique that always worked with Isis._

"_You know, I could give you more of that" she pointed at the bread remains in his hand._

_His eyes widened and he started salivating all over again, seemingly forgetting that he already had food in his hands "Really?" he asked._

"_Of course. I'll give you as much as you want." She answered him, her bright smile blinding him._

_Marik furrowed his brows, confused, not trusting the night more than he did its people "Why would you do that?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously, now freely wary of her._

_The woman smiled, unperturbed by his change in his conduct " Call me a helper. I like to help children like you, who are left alone and hungry." She simply said, and Marik started releasing his suspicions "Are you an angel?" he asked seriously, still suspicious, but the woman laughed with a clinging sweet chime and petted his head, dismissively._

"_No, Marik. But I do want to take you to heaven" her sweet laughter, along with the teasing bread in his hands and the soft touch on his head, not violent for a change, reminded him too much of Isis and his Mother. Too much of his happy life…_

_He nodded dumbly, staring at her candid face, aghast. He was lost, felling like Isis was finally here to help him again…When she said she wanted to take him to heaven, he believed her._

"_Come with me, Marik…" she urged him, sweetly "Let me take you there." She offered him a wonderfully polished, pale soft hand, and he felt unworthy at putting his dirty, tanned one over it, as though he was a leper that would ruin her angelic perfection._

_He followed her. Followed her to a house with a big room, where dozens of other children like him were gathered, some younger than him, some older. He wanted to ask what they were all doing there and what was the woman's name, but when an entire feast of meat and sweets and milk and warm cookies was presented to the children in the room, none spoke and they all rushed to the table, feasting on the food as if they hadn't eaten in years. As though they were like Marik. Marik soon found out that they were exactly as abandoned and alone as he._

_-_

_Until, one of the days that followed, a man came, dressed in a green suit. Marik was afraid of him, unlike the other children, who were less inhibited than he, but he still followed the man when the beautiful woman instructed him to do just that._

_They were all led to big cars, like trucks, which had places for all of them to sit in the back. Marik stayed away from the other kids. He was less afraid of them than adults, but he still didn't want to talk to any of them._

_They didn't understand where the cars were leading them and they were all worried, since the beautiful woman hadn't followed them there, wherever they were going. Marik felt alone and abandoned and betrayed all over again, but now he was fed on a regular basis, and he'd been given clothes, even though they were scrubby and old. They were clothes._

_They entered a forest and drove through it. When they had reached a strange clearing, they were instructed by the drivers and supervisors to leave the trucks and walk forward. Marik saw one of the men drive forwards and take out what looked like a phone. He started speaking quickly and Marik couldn't hear what he was saying, but he still heard what the men near him were saying to each other._

"_I'm telling you" one of them told the other "More than 100 miles underground. MultiCorp really did it with this one, eh? Can't wait to see it"_

"_Are you serious?" the other answered "I know they say these underground beehives are the thing of the future, but…"_

"_It's a lab. Their secret dirty lab. I just know it. You'll see.."_

"_Are you sure about this…there are rumours you know…they say everyone who ever walked in there never came out again."_

"_Pfft…Lies, I say."_

_The supervisor ended his phone call, turned back to the children and shouted for them to follow him. They had no choice and no will to leave, so the moment the ground shook and revealed a metallic huge hatch, they weren't the least bit inclined to leave, even though shaken. They were all children of the street, wary of other people but hungry nonetheless, and they wouldn't abandon this ticket to free food no matter what happened._

_The supervisor took out what looked like a remote and started playing with the buttons. When they all saw the huge hatch on the ground slide open in two, they took a step back, but didn't run. The followed the man as he went down the metallic staircase that had emerged. And then all of them, children and adults together, stood unmoving on the huge platform were the stairs led and waited for it to 'activate' as the supervisor said._

_Marik saw the hatch close over their heads and heard the soil of the forest cover the metallic passageway, hiding it from view. The next thing he new, his guts were threatening to come out through his mouth, since the platform they were on had started moving downwards in great speed._

_The rest of the children yelled in alert, and so did some of the men who'd driven them there, but their supervisor was left unfazed. When the torture finally stopped, the elevator-platform had reached the lowest level it could probably go. The children, excited at all the new things and the 'roller-coaster ride', were instructed to walk through a door and into a small room, where they had to huddle close together for everyone to fit._

"_This is the decontamination room." The supervisor said, and of course, Marik didn't understand what he meant. The adults, however, seemed to understand. "One by one we will walk to that door" the supervisor pointed at an open archway in the end of the small room._

"_When you walk in, glass doors will close around you and a gas will be released. The air will change colour. Don't be afraid; it won't hurt a bit. When it's over, you'll only be able to walk forward, so step forwards and wait for me there. Okay? Here, I'll go first and show you."_

_The supervisor walked fearlessly to the alcove. Once he'd walked under the arch he had indicated before, glass barriers really did come down around him and everyone could see a blue thing be released in the air around him, decontaminating him. When the gas was sucked back into the vents, the glass door in front of the man opened while the one behind him stayed closed._

"_Decontamination complete" a computerized voice said and the supervisor walked outside. When he had left the glass chamber, the door he'd just walked through came back down again, whilst the other glass door, which connected the glass chamber with the room Marik was in, opened._

_One by one, the children started to shakily walk in the glass alcove, getting 'cleaned up' as one of the men put it. When it was Marik's turn, his heart was beating wildly from fear and he gritted his teeth. He shut his eyes tightly when he walked under the alcove. The glass doors fell around him and he couldn't hear anything anymore, as if he were surrounded by a barricade of cement, not by glass._

"_Decontamination process engaged" the computerized voice said in his chamber, making him start. Then he saw the blue gas shooting around him and felt a bit giddy for a moment; but it was over in two seconds, and he unsteadily walked out of the glass door in front of him, letting it close after he walked out. _

_When everyone was through with that, the supervisor smiled at them and explained it had been necessary, but the kids weren't at all concerned, talking about how fun it had been to be in that blue thing; it felt like floating. Marik hadn't liked it all that much, however._

_They walked down an endless metal-walled corridor, until they finally reached the end, where a sturdy-looking metal hatched door waited for them. Their supervisor, who had put on a white doctor's robe after the decontamination, took out an ID card from his pocket, slipped it in the reception and watched as the metallic hatch opened, letting the door slide open for him._

_Once it was open, a whole new world was presented to everyone. They walked through the door and into the chaos of white robed scientists and phosphoric green lights. It was a humungous, round reception hall, with huge computer screens on the walls and metallic doors all around. Scientists were everywhere: some conversing lightly and others looking at the ratings on the screens, some walking through doors, some were followed by dogs and other animals, some by humans…The lighting in there was green and blue, and it gave Marik the creeps, for some reason. But the other kids were excited about it all, saying it was great and wonderful and completely cool._

"_Welcome to Kuru Eruna" the supervisor said, a smile now on his face "MultiCorp-MediCorp's top secret laboratory, buried 300 kilometres under the earth's surface and completely untouchable by local authorities." He said that in a proud, satisfied way, as though exhilarated by the very thought of it._

_Marik wanted to see the beautiful woman. This isn't what he'd bargained for. This didn't look like heaven…this didn't make him less lonely. It only made him more frightened. Suddenly an amiable female scientist walked up to them, her hair pulled up in a bun. _

"_Hello Peter" she greeted the scientist that had accompanied them there. Marik noticed she had a strange accent…as though she didn't come from around there. He didn't know what to call it though…He didn't know it was British._

"_Hey. These are the ones from unit 343" he reported simply, not even bothering with salutations. The woman sobered up immediately ay mentioning of business._

"_I'll take them down to the BWP-DNA sector. You take care of the adults." She said, and Marik suddenly realized he was surrounded by the very adults he was afraid of, and that they practically were talking in another language- one he didn't understand. The fact that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there also bothered him._

"_Children" the woman said, again in that obviously fake friendly tone "My name is Maya, and if you'll please follow me." She said and walked forward. Not knowing what to do, most of the children hesitated, not liking to be tossed around from one supervisor to another. But, having nowhere to go and knowing they'd probably not be allowed to get out now, they started walking after the woman. Marik walked slowest of all, hearing the worried whispers of the others._

_He looked back and saw the Peter guy who had taken them there lead the confused adults in one of the doors that were all around this great hall. The Maya woman who was their guide now had walked all across the hall, reaching a hatched, metal door. There was an inscription over it, but Marik couldn't read, so he never realized it spelled "Brain Wave Procession- DesoxyribosoNoucleinic Alteration" the woman took out a card, pout it in the ID receptor and turned to smile a very worrying 'reassuring' smile at the children._

"_C'mon "she said "I'll show you something fun" and walked into the revealed corridor, which had green lights over it. Marik doubted what he'd be seeing would be fun at all. At the end of the corridor they met yet another bulked door and the card-reception process was repeated. For all his head, Marik couldn't in his wildest dreams fathom why would something 'fun' be hidden so many locked doors._

"_Stand-by for retina identification" the computer said and Marik didn't know exactly what it meant by that, but he saw some sort of light beam hit Maya's right eye and the computer say "Retina recognition successful. Standby for voice identification" Maya said her name aloud, and the computer talked to her again, saying "Identified. Welcome, Reidey, Maya" and with this, the door opened, revealing yet another 'decontamination' room. The gas was purple this time. Maya said it was stronger, for security purposes._

_Once they had all walked to the other side of the glass chamber, a dark room illuminated only by green lights awaited them._

"_Now, you may see many things as we walk around here" Maya started saying, making Marik realize this was not about food and heaven any more "but don't be afraid. It's just the way things are around here. You may hear people shouting, but, trust me, they're not in danger. Just follow me and everything will be okay." She finished, and twirled around to walk through the silent dark room, her stiletto heels clicking as she walked. "C'mon" she urged the kids and walked into an equally dark, long corridor. Only this corridor's walls were made of glass, glass Marik was too short to see through. The taller kids who could see, however, gasped and trembled and scurried closer to Maya. No sound came from the rooms behind the windows and Marik thought these glasses must be strong too, like the decontamination ones._

_They climbed a step in the corridor and continued their walk across it. Suddenly, Marik heard a blood-curdling scream come from behind him and whipped his head around in alert. Where the heck had that come from?_

"_Don't mind it!" Maya told the startled kids, petting their heads and telling them to turn around "The glass is soundproof, but sometimes a door has to open…" she explained and walked forward casually. Marik idly wondered if there were always screams in those glass rooms, in order for a scream to be heard whenever 'a door opens'…_

_Maya reached the end of the long hall and stopped. The children halted right after her and stared up at her expectantly, waiting for what would come next._

"_All right, children. Listen up." she started, and Marik knew this was not going to be good, whatever it was "We have to walk in there, now" she said, pointing to the door next to a glass window. Most of the children who were tall enough to see through the glass places shivered. There was no escape. Nowhere to go now. Too late for repent._

"…_but you might get scared, so let me just clear this up for you." She explained "There are people in there who are very, very ill and we have to find medicine for them and help cure them. So, if you see people in there, don't get frightened. Whatever we do is for their own good. Okay?"_

_All the children nodded, conveying their understanding wordlessly. Maya smiled in what looked like a satanic smile- his father's smile- to Marik, especially since shadows were all around them._

"_All righty" Maya said in a fake patronizing tone and stepped towards the door, using a different card to enter this time. The moment she opened the door, penetrating cries were unleashed in the corridor, and Marik clamped his hands over his ears, horrified. Most of the children mirrored his behaviour._

"_DON'T BE AFRAID! THEY'RE VERY ILL! COME ON!" Maya shouted to be heard over the hollering, and most children walked inside, others lingered a little, then entered. A new corridor, this time with walls made entirely of glass. Marik could see…everything._

_On the right and on the left, everywhere, cells with people screaming. Scientists were over them with various instruments, checking their pulse, doing things with their heads, operating on them. In common view. Was Maya crazy to bring children in this place? And the hollering continued, all the way._

_Marik kept walking, the last child in the row, observing the interiors- horrors- of the labs. In the back of his mind, Marik started to realize, he was very wrong at having followed the beautiful woman. He was very wrong in his assumption about her…she was more of a demon that an angel. He knew that now._

_As he walked, trying, like most of them, not to look inside the glass cells, he suddenly heard a raspy voice from somewhere in the front. At the sound of it, he saw Maya pause and look inside a glass. The kids gathered round her, trying to see why she had stopped and who was speaking._

_It was a lab like all the others, only this one didn't have scientists running around in it. There was only one person in there, and what had caught Marik's attention was that he wasn't lying down, like most of them. He was hanging from what looked like a machine, his body spread in the stance of crucifixion, his wrists held up by metal handcuffs, tying him to the machine. The man looked dangerously thin with a sucked-in stomach and frail limbs. He only had a white cloth tied around his hips, covering his private parts._

_But that wasn't the worst part. Over the man's body, on his torso, his legs and his hands…and even on his head… were attached slim tubes. Thin tubes, which looked like they were piercing his skin and forcing inside him the yellow serum carried inside them._

_The most frightening part about the situation, though, Marik supposed, was the fact that the man was awake. Oh yes, wide awake and staring at the passersby with his truly unsettling, absolutely terrifying, glaring red eyes. His black hair fell over his brow, some of them sorter than the others, but all of them much longer than any usual male's hair. Black like the feathers of the most red eyed crow, his unruly hair reached the length of his hips. And the nails, too. Oh, god. Long and curvy, like those of an eagle, a falcon. Terrifying._

_He wasn't exactly a man, Marik noted. He wasn't like Marik's father. His arms and chest weren't as puffy and toned as a grown man's would have been. But he wasn't a boy either, as his taut torso, long limbs and angled jaw showed. But then again…he had curvy thin eyebrows, and a distressingly feminine face…he definitely wasn't a boy, or a man. Marik supposed he was what his mother had always told him he'd become one day. A 'big boy'. A boy big enough to shop in the supermarket alone, commute by bus without needing to hold his mother's hand, and go to the places Marik had never been allowed to go to._

"_Taking kids now as well, are we?" his worn out voice- probably from screaming- was directed at Maya, and Marik thought he was a very frightening big boy, even though he was hanging on a machine and he had a gauze around his forehead and he had pipes attached to his skin. His read eyes were like fire- too red to be normal. Too red to be human. His skin pale and zombie-like, as though the sun hadn't looked at him for a long, long time. The black hair fell straight, like spaghetti strings, tumbling over the gauze on his forehead: first to a short fringe and then to their blue-shiny mane._

"_Don't worry, love. You're still a priority." Maya literally sneered at him, much unlike the way one would treat a sick patient._

_The hanging person didn't say anything, just raised his chin and spit at her, his saliva falling on the floor in front of him, never reaching the target. Maya grinned derisively, obviously enjoying the fruitless efforts very much. Especially the other's helpless state._

"_Children" she called to her followers, sending the crow-man a last scornful look "Let's go. I have much to show you. Don't worry. I promised I'll take you to a fun place, and that's what I'll do."_

"_FUN? You sick bitch! You're sick!" the hanging adolescent screamed at the top of his lungs and lunged forwards with his demon-claws bared, as though intending to harm Maya. But with his sudden movement, he'd consequently dragged along with him the entire set of tubes that were locked on his skin. Now he was screaming out of pain, his voice tenor high now, much like the rest of the screams in that place. _

_The children were deafened and afraid by the sudden lunge, so they immediately jumped to the other end of the corridor and walked as far from the glass as they could, simultaneously trying not to touch the glass behind their backs, on the opposite side of the corridor, where some man's brain was being operated, out of the children's view. Marik, who was afraid of older males in general, was particularly shaken by the bigger boy's screech, so much so that he actually jumped back and fell on the glass behind him, getting a sting of electrocution and yelping. Maya looked at him in alert for a moment, but then resumed her attention to her long-time acquaintance._

"_Sick?" Maya asked, amused, as she started walking past this crow-like person's chamber, disinterestedly. "I'm not the one with the red eyes, Nehti." She obviously teased and unleashed a derisive guffaw, before she motioned for the kids to follow. Then, she walked forwards nonchalantly._

"_**YOU** DID THIS TO ME!" Nehti's mind- imploding screech hit the corridor's glass walls and reverberated what must have been a hundred times, before it died down. That must have been the last of Nehti's strength, since after that, he bent his head to the floor and stared at it listlessly, as though giving up on life completely. He must have felt terrible, hanging on a machine, with red eyes that made everyone afraid of him…_

_Suddenly, in Marik's ears, his Mother's words echoed once again. 'There are always worse things in this world'…oh…oh god. There were. Nehti' s black hair, wet as though from sweat or water, his convulsing chest, his unearthly red eyes…there were worse things._

"_Come along, children. Just ignore him. He's sick." Maya said as she walked forward, motioning for the last of the remaining kids to follow. But Marik wasn't so sure of Nehti's illness anymore. He was the last one to walk away from the crow's chamber, watching as the man remained unresponsive to the woman's neglecting words. At last, just as he was going to walk away, Marik saw the black head raise and the red eyes pierce through his skull._

"_Run" Nehti mouthed at him, with a somewhat ironic grin "While you still can"_

_Marik froze, his sky blue eyes widening in absolute dread, his heartbeat racing. Why were those eyes looking at him? It was like the Boogie-Man his Mother had told him about. The Boogie monsters always had blue eyes…The monsters in the shadows always wanted to get him. He was so frightened, so terrified by the red eyes, the vampire skin and the muscles dilating under the tubes, that he really did run. He ran away from that glass, as far away as he could, not wanting to be alone near anyone that reminded him of red…Red liquid on his Mother's face…Red on his father's hands… His fear for anyone that reminded him of his father's psychotic face that day drove him far from Nehti's cage. He willingly followed Maya now, not wanting to talk to anyone, all of a sudden._

"_Who was that guy?" one of the kids of their group asked curiously, pulling Marik's interest immediately. His heart throbbed unevenly once again._

_Maya shrugged disinterestedly "His name is Bakura, Nehti. He's very sick, as you must have realized. Highly dangerous. Insane. Stay as far away from him as you can"_

_Insane, huh? Strange. He'd sounded much more logical than she had at any moment._

_Marik was glad when she showed them to a huge room at the end of the corridor. It was a playroom for kids, unlike anything he'd ever seen around there. Toys and candy lay everywhere and dormitory beds were located in an adjacent bedroom. There were already other kids in there, dozens of them, as poor and alone as Marik and his group…Marik watched the other kids exclaim happy cheers, not bothering to trouble themselves with what they'd just seen when faced with such mountains of sweets._

_But Marik wasn't like that. He watched Maya leave the kids with a woman who looked suspiciously like a Babysitter and then repeated Nehti's words in his mind : 'You did this to me' He knew it wasn't over yet…they wouldn't just let them go with nothing in return. It couldn't be._

_-_

_Life was enjoyable in Kuru Eruna. They had tons of food whenever they asked for it. They had toys and underground playgrounds. There was fun and joy for everyone, and kind babysitters to spare. _

_But something was off._

_At irregular intervals, Maya would come, or one of the nurses, and they'd ask for one of them to follow them. The other kids never found out where their companions left to, but most of them didn't care as long as there was food in their plates and a soft bed to sleep at night. Poor street kids no one would miss, or notice were one from the face of the earth. Their conscience was easily lost when their gluttony and constant need reminded them of their poverty._

_But Marik didn't understand it. Where did all these kids disappear to, one by one? Why didn't they ever come back..? What was it they did to them? Did they make their eyes red to make them look like demons? Did they mutilate their limbs? What did they do?_

_There were significantly less children in Marik's group now than there had been a month before. Marik was waiting for it any moment now, waiting to be called to his doom. He couldn't sleep well any more. Couldn't eat comfortably. He was marching towards a non-fun place like the rest of them, he knew. Something interesting that he'd discovered was that he wasn't really five years old any more. More like nine-ten. A nurse had told him after she took his medical reading one day._

_Oh, of course. The medical check-ups. Every week, each one of them had to go through one of those. It was a small visit to the nurse, who took your blood pressure and put other funny thingies of your hands and chest to check out 'physical details' as she called them. Marik wasn't told anything, apart from his weekly height or weight, but he knew there had to be something more than that. Why did the nurse put that big helmet-thing on his head if there was nothing going on?_

_Marik exited the playroom very seldom, since he hated going outside, in the midst of all the screams. When he'd passed by Nehti's cell again, he'd found it empty. He never saw the red eyes again._

_Finally, on a Thursday morning, a nurse walked in their room and took out the –by now- familiar catalogue. "Marik, catalogue number 73" she simply called, not adding a last name, since there was none. At least not anymore._

_His knees shaking, he left with the nurse, leaving the cheery calls behind and following the woman down the nightmarish corridor and out, to the silent corridor, with the window-like glass walls._

"_C'mon" the nurse egged him on when she saw he was stalling. She clasped a hand around one of his and tugged at it, making him walk faster. This time they entered a different door in the dark corridor. Walking in, Marik realized, this looked much like the glass wall corridor where the playroom and Nehit's chamber had been. He followed the nurse, but he kept getting the feeling that she wouldn't take him to a playroom place this time. He was afraid he'd be one of the people he could see through the glass walls. One of the 'sick' people. One of the lost kids. Afraid he'd wake up with red eyes and nails like claws. Afraid he'd become…that._

_And indeed, his fears were justified when the nurse turned to a glass wall and signaled to the scientists inside to let her in. They pressed some buttons in a control pad and the glass barrier opened. The nurse pushed Marik inside and at his terrified look, she simply waved goodbye._

_Now he was alone, his insides convulsing in fear. Alone in one of the glass chambers he acoided so meticulously. Of course the scientists were there, but they didn't count. They were much like the rest of the surroundings. They were part of everyday life now. The background in everything Marik did. Marik wasn't even afraid of them any more. In fact, he was slowly getting over his fear of adults. Now he was afraid of the room itself, albeit he knew that was even more unstable._

"_Hello…uh…" the scientist looked at his catalogue "…Marik, is it?"_

_The boy nodded stiffly and the scientist smiled. This didn't look right. Definitely not right._

"_Right!" the scientist called, ignoring his colleagues, who were fussing about behind him. "Okay, Marik, we simply want to run some tests. This won't hurt a bit, so if you'd just sit on the chair over there" he pointed at a fairly ominous mechanic chair, full of wires "we can get started. This is just like the helmet your nurse puts on your head, only bigger."_

_Marik nodded, wanting to ask more but unable to speak. He walked where the scientist with the catalogue and the glasses indicated and sat down gingerly._

"_Just…relax and you won't feel a thing." the bespectacled man suggested, and Marik found he couldn't relax, since he didn't know whether he'd ever walk out of here or not. Actually, the more they told him to relax, the more reason he found not to._

_Suddenly, a helmet clammed down on his head from the top of the chair, and he shivered at its steely coldness. Small stings started to poke his skull, just like with the nurse's helmet. He was expecting something to happen to get him killed, maybe, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred._

"_Okay Marik" the scientist's voice was audible, but faraway "I want you to think of a red car. Do you understand? Picture in your mind a red car." The man said, and Marik supposed the machine –or the scientist- would fry him alive if he didn't comply...the fear of where he would end up after this 'test' was almost killing him, but he knew that he had to do what he was told and try not to piss them off. Therefore, not really seeing the meaning of this, he did what he was told and thought of the damn red car._

"_Good, good…" the scientist said and there was a pause. Then he spoke again "Right. Now I want you to think of an orange, black-striped tiger. Think very carefully, Marik. A tiger." Marik grudgingly thought of the tiger, wondering what other colours a regular tiger could have- except for the polar felines that Marik didn't know about, of course._

_And the game went on from there, Marik keprt thinking whatever he was told to think and listening to people from the back say "It matches!" and "I can't believe it!" the test was pretty long, and Marik got tired, eventually._

_When the helmet was finally lifted from his head, the scientists all had sparkles in their eyes. They started lavishing him with epithets he didn't really understand and then told him he would hear from them a few days later. He really wasn't looking forward to it, but he was aware that he was the only one so far that would return to the playroom. He supposed it was a good sign, but his instincts warned him otherwise. He knew that whether or not he'd return to the playroom, he'd still stay trapped in Kuru Eruna, and that was bad enough. _

_The nurse came to take him away just as he heard one of the scientists say to an intercom machine "His brainwaves are an exact match. It 's unbelievable, I tell you! Down to the last detail, the data is-"_

"_Shall we go, dear?" the nurse urged, and Marik nodded, having no excuse to stay and listen to what he wanted to know was wrong with him. Because in order for these people to be excited about I, itt had to be some sort of disease. It couldn't possibly be good. At least not for his corporal integrity…_

_-_

_Many a time he contemplated running away from the seemingly flawless Kuru Eruna, but he found no way. The one way would be to steal ID Cards, and that was virtually impossible for a ten-year-old like him. Besides, where would he find the eye scan and the voice recording in order to pass through the high security doors? How would he now the buttons to activate the platform-elevator, all this without being seen?_

_Nah. It was loony beyond comprehension. He just had to stick with what he was told to do, careful to keep his eyes open always. Unbidden, the remembrance of a rumour came to his mind, which he'd heard someone talk about…'no one who walks in Kuru Eruna has walked out again'. He shivered._

_A few days after his first test, he was called again, this time without delay of other kids being tested. He was led to a different lab this time, one where there were chips lying around and screens that charted numbers. There was also this scan of a line bobbing up and down, much in the form of cardiograph screen, only not the same._

_This time, they told him to stare at this weird chip that had a round shape._

"_What is this?" he asked in suspicious curiosity._

_One of the scientists looked at his colleagues, who shrugged and answered, "It's a new technology we've developed, Marik. Let's just say we've made a gigantic step to the future. Now. I want you to look at this chip and think of something, anything." He instructed._

"_Okay" Marik said, shrugging, and turned to look at the weird mechanical thingy. He thought of the beach his Mother used to take him to and the sweet coldness of the wavy sea._

"_Well?" one of the scientists asked from the back._

"_This is incredible" the other said, pointing at the chart on the screen, where two wavy lines were now pictured. "Amazing. See how the chip's waves morph according to his own?"_

"_Unbelievable." The other agreed. "Okay…Marik, is it? Think of something else."_

_Marik thought how amusing it was that these people were fawning over him but didn't even know his name. That thought was followed by a new sting of 'ohhh's and 'ahhh's from the scientists._

"_This is great. Marik,. One more try. Think something along the lines of 'I want you to go over there'" the scientist urged._

_Marik instinctively thought 'I want you to shut up' and hoped that it wasn't recorded in the screen what he was thinking, just how he was thinking it._

"_Perfect. He's actually **forcing** the chip's waves to match his own." A female scientist said in an astonished tone, turning to look at what seemed to be the director scientist of that place._

"_Wonderful. Marik, you just wait here" he pampered the boy "I'll just go make a call."_

_The guy walked near a table of buttons on the wall and said "Noa, connect Dr. Alpha One for me, will you?"_

"_Signal sent. Awaiting server response" the familiar computerized voice answered._

"_Who's Noa?" Marik whispered to one of the scientists, his childish curiosity prevailing._

_The woman smiled at him, probably because his brain was the way she wanted it to be and not out of pure amiability "Noa is the main-frame computer of Kuru Eruna. He's in control of all the utilities of the building…Some say that before this place was created he was…" she started thoughtfully and then stopped "Never mind." She finished, and Marik turned his attention back to the intercom conversation, thinking all the while that if somehow, he could make Noa like him, he'd be able to escape Kuru Eruna with the computer's help. But then again, Noa was a computer, which didn't have feelings. Bummer._

"…_.that's splendid, Gamma Twelve." The man on the other end of the intercom was saying "We'll finally be able to set the plan in motion."_

"_Yes sir." The Gamma guy answered briskly, obviously overexcited about his new discovery and how it would change his world- and ,possibly, his doctor rank._

"_You know what to do. First neutralize the memory and tinker to make it appropriate. Don't mess with the waves. Then clone it. Thousands of times. No, make that a million…Just use our top capacity." The man on the speaker said and Marik's blood froze as he repeated the key words in his, apparently miraculous, brain 'You know what to do?' 'memory' 'clone'? What the heck was going on? Was his fate worse than that of the others…just because of this…this…brain-thing?_

"_Yes sir. We'll be sending you the results ASAP." Gamma twelve said and finished the connection._

"_Connection terminated." Marik heard Noa's boyish voice say through the haze of his anxiety. Then, the Gamma director scientist turned and smiled at him, and Marik knew this was the end of the line for him. It was over, whatever his short and very eventful life had been._

"_If you'll kindly follow me to our main laboratory, Marik…" the man said, and Marik felt more than saw two bulky men walk up behind him, probably to restrain him, in case he decided to run for it._

"_We can begin the standard procedure."_

_No choice. No escape. A ten-year-old who was afraid of big men. Naive enough to follow a beautiful woman in search of companionship and salvation. That was how idiotic he was. _

_He wondered if he'd scream doggedly and shrilly, just like the ones he was afraid of. He wondered if his screams would scare other children brought here, in desperate search of 'a fun place'. And now, in his ten years of age, as he watched Gamma's eager, commanding eyes brittle at him, imagining what his brain would look chopped up in a platter, he finally knew how Nehti felt._

_--_

"_Who am I?" he asked, his head dizzy. He was on a white bed, people with red-stained robes hovering around him._

"_Give him the anesthetic."_

"_Call Alpha One. We neutralized the memory completely."_

"_Bring out the artificial enhancements"_

_And the world faded back to black, just as he felt a sting on the side of his throat._

_-_

"_Tell me who you are" the man with glasses and brown hair who was standing next to him asked._

"_I am Marik Ishrat" He answered simply, knowing full well what he was meant to do, who he was, where he was. "Nice to see you, Beta three." He greeted the man beside him. He was in a customary Kuru Eruna room, the light grey sheets of his patient bed pooling around his legs. He smiled automatically at the man above him. He remembered. This man was a friend._

"_Hi, Marik." The scientist answered him. "How are you feeling?" he asked, bringing out a notepad._

"_Fine, thank you" he responded mechanically again._

"_Tell, me Marik." The man asked him again, his hand flying over his notes in steady writing pace "Where is here?"_

"_We are in Kuru Eruna, Beta. Just like always." He answered in a questioning tone, as if he didn't understand why the other was asking him about things he already knew._

"_And what is your mission?" the interrogator demanded._

"_To guard the Sleepers, of course." The tanned boy responded calmly, without a twitch of his nose._

"_Until when do you guard them?" Beta asked, seemingly satisfied with watching the steadiness of Marik's responses._

"_Until the android finds the Secret."_

"_What Secret?" Beta's eyes were narrowed now, watching Marik carefully._

"_Why, the Secret of immortality, of course. I only tell you this because you already know it, Beta. After all, you are one of the Sleepers." Marik simply said, not at all affected by what he was saying._

"_Wonderful. Marik, tell me, how old are you, exactly?" Beta asked, obviously satisfied by the pace of the interrogation._

"_I have existed for two hours and fifteen minutes exactly."_

"_Correct. And…what must you do?" Beta slowly asked, putting great weight on this question._

_Marik didn't even think about it. He just answered, like a machine "I must go to the main hall, receive the Gift from the previous clone and become his heir."_

_Beta smirked, his lip curling in full display of his smugness at this creation._

"_And…what is the Gift?"_

"_Because clones are not born with the required brainpower, due to memory alterations, I must allow my predecessor to use the microchip instrument on me, so that my brainwaves can equalize fully with those of the android."_

_Beta smirked. "Peeeerfect" he said, and stood up. "Wait here Marik, and I will send your predecessor to Initiate you. This time, he will come to you." He said, and Marik nodded his accord._

_Beta slowly walked out of the glass chamber, the doors slamming behind him._

"_Free the gas. Don't leave until you're sure he's dead." Beta told the man in the lab control panel. And Marik, locked in his laboratory, smelled a strange scent in the air. He didn't have time to react, however, since he was already suffocating. _

_After the torturous few moments that he was forced to suffer in the haze of blurriness, Marik's body finally fell, and the world around him went black._

_As for Beta, he called the notorious master doctor, Alpha One._

"_It is done. The original is dead."_

"_Good." Alpha answered stiffly "And the memory exchange?"_

"_Flawless. He thinks exactly what we want him to."_

"_Perfect. Clone the DNA and install the memory in all the clones. And I mean: ALL the clones. We don't want any problems with the sequence."_

"_Of course, sire. Everything will go according to plan."_

"_Good. Call me when it's over."_

_-_

_Marik woke up alone, surrounded in some sort of vile gelatinous fluid. What was going on? He looked down at his liquid covered hands. He was still ten, apparently…his hands looked and felt the same…only this place wasn't where he last remembered being…_

"_There was that Gamma guy…" Marik started saying out loud "And then they said something about memory…and then they took me to the surgery room…Shit!" Marik grabbed his head, trying to steady the dizziness._

"_Okay. What the heck is this?" he asked aloud, referring to the blue slimy thing around him, looking at it strangely. ' I gotta get out of here" he thought, and stumbled out of the gelatinous bubble that he had been enveloped in. He noticed that his body felt the same, though not exactly the same…It was like he was seeing things through someone else's eyes, only they were his own…this was…weird to say the least. There was an inscription at the top of the glowing cyst he had just walked out of –looked numeric- but he didn't know what it meant, godammit!_

_And then he saw them. Around him, All around him. Hundreds of thousands of them. Cocoons like the one he just came out of. Cocoons…with him inside. He. Thousands of himself, sleeping as though in a coma. Waiting to be awoken. Unbidden, a thought came to him about cloning, and how they'd said they were going to clone him…what the heck? They actually had the guts to go through with it? Then again…the things he had seen in that place…Seeing all those faces…all his selfs, lying there sleeping, as if going to wake up and hunt him like zombies any moment…_

_But…wait a minute…hadn't he walked out of one of those…uteruses? Did that mean that… that he was…He grabbed his long her –wet and slimy- and wisted his arms in them, refusing to believe it. He was not a…a…a doll! He was not a clone. He hadn't lost his marbles- at least not yet. He had memories, didn't he? He knew who and what he was…he…he couldn't be…They'd probably confused him with one of the clones and put him in a cocoon…yes, that had to be it…He…he needed to get out of that place…away from his own disgusting, multiplied by million faces. He hated that place! Hated it!_

_Speaking of 'that place', the dark alcoves of the great cocoon-room he was located in were eerily familiar...for some reason, they reminded him of the playroom. Naked and still wet from the disgusting liquid- whatever the heck it was- he ran in the dark towards where he thought the exit was, until he blindly walked into a door. Oh shit! What now! He couldn't stay in there! Not with all the thousands of hims sleeping about. He felt like throwing up. He tried to fight it. Eventually he did get sick, only there was nothing in his stomach to unleash, so he was spared the trouble._

_He had to get out of there. Out of Kuru Eruna. Out before people found him and forced him to stay!_

"_Noa! Open the god-damn door!" Marik shouted at the top of his lungs, hitting the door with his fists._

"_Of course, Marik. Door released." Noa said and Marik stared at the computer panel, which was glowing in the dark._

"_What the…?" he said out loud, wondering since when Noa, the notorious Eruna main computer, obeyed** him** of all people._

_But he never scorned a stroke of luck when presented with one. He ran outside, through dark corridors with murky walls, completely unlike he remembered them. Frantically, he ran, sprinted. He knew where he was, and yet, he didn't. Was he still in Kuru Eruna? It didn't look the same. No glass walls, no metallic doors, no freaky scientists bustling around. He walked down the corridor, completely naked, Where the hell was everybody? Where were the glass doors! What was happening?_

_He ran straight into another door and cursed. He couldn't see anything or hear anything in the dark- only his frenzied panting. Once more, he asked Noa to open the door and was granted permission. The old(?) metal creaked in a disgusting way as the hatch opened. Marik got goosebumps. When did the metal get a chance to rot? What had **he** been doing all this time. Something was obviously different about Eruna…something that made the place even more dark and frightening. Everything looked older, somehow. Rotten. Disintegrated, as if it had been left like this for decades…_

_Looking at the computer panel strangely, he ran out the rotten steel door. The place smelled disgusting. Another corridor, and now he was getting afraid he'd get lost. Not at all impossible at this dark place. Now he had no lights to guide him from the clones' blue cocoons. He had only Noa's computer light…But of course! Noa! Noa seemed really fond of him nowadays, didn't he? Noa would help._

"_Hey Noa." He called the AI as he approached the next door "How do I get out of here."_

"_He is waiting for you in the main reception, Marik" Noa answered, casually. Marik could not in his wildest dreams fathom who 'he' was, and what Noa's answer had to do with his question, but he still got a sense of foreboding at the mentioning of 'him'…He didn't know what was worst: being alone in the torture dungeons of Eruna, or being there with a potential torturer. And Marik really was afraid of bigger males…even though he'd been trying to suppress it with the scientists…_

"_How do I go there?" Marik hoarsely asked, thinking that being led somewhere was preferable to getting lost._

"_Don't you already know?" Noa questioned in obvious disbelief._

"_Uh…I forgot." Marik answered, not able to believe he was actually expected to know these things. How the heck would he be able to find his way through the labyrinth that was Kuru Eruna? And in the dark, too? He didn't know the place so well…thank God._

"…_Very well." Noa answered after brief consideration. "I will guide you. Go through this door, walk down the hall and meet me in the next threshold."_

_The door in front of Marik opened and he did as Noa had ordered him. After a while of following Noa's concrete directions, Marik reached another door._

"_Through the door. And turn at the second door on the right."_

_Marik did as he was told and took the right, which was quite difficult to ascertain, due to lack of proper lighting. He was afraid in the darkness and lonely silence. He wanted to get out, now! Or at least find someone to talk to…even though 'he' sounded ominous…_

_Finally, Noa led him left and right and straight, and left again. And he was actually expected to know all this! He thought the twists and turns in the labyrinth of darkness would never end, until he saw a faint green light on the end of a corridor. Elated, he ran towards it and came to the threshold of the door in front of it, only to discover it wasn't a natural light at all. It was the light coming from a green cocoon, much like the blue one he had woken up form, only this didn't contain another him inside. There was a touch-screen panel in front of the bubble, showing details Marik could not read and also having a picture of an old man- the man who was sleeping in the cocoon, probably._

_Turning around, he realized that all the corridor was covered in these sleeping, half-dead…creatures. Again with the feeling that the zombies would wake up and bite him. Now he felt more alone than ever. He continued down the faintly illuminated halls, now with the company of frozen old people hanging from their…highly eccentric nests on the walls. As he walked down halls, corridor after corridor of sleeping elders, he couldn't help but stare at the frozen faces, feeling his lungs constrict with dread…they'd wake up…they'd eat him alive…Finally, he reached a corridor that had a different light in the end. A natural orange one._

_Marik ran towards it, excited, only to see that he was in a vaguely familiar, huge round hall. Only now, the reception hall didn't look exactly like he remembered it. Gone were screens hanging on the walls. Gone were the metallic hatched doors. Deteriorated with time, probably. No more teeming, busy people. There was no one there. Now the walls were covered with weird relieves, some strange, glowing…stuff. They were blue, but the torches on the sides of the room gave out a natural yellow colour. Damn. This place looked more medieval now than Marik had remembered it from his past. Marik slowly turned his eyes, until they met with the only occupant of the room, a robed figure with a hooded head. It was probably the nameless 'he' that Noa had told him about. His robed figure was like a pillar of purple, bolted to the floor in the middle of the round hall._

"_Are you ready for the Initiation?" a raspy voice asked, as though it hadn't been used for long._

"_What initiation?" Marik asked, bluntly, making the other turn to him. Marik noticed then, that he was holding a sparkly golden…stick._

"_The Gift will be given to you." The man said, slowly taking the golden distaff in both hands and dragging a palm over one end, unseathing a…knife!_

_Okay, this was not good. This was definitely not good._

"_What…the heck are you talking about?" Marik took a step back, his eyes fluttering in fear first at the man's broad shoulder and then at the glinting instrument in his hands. The hooded man retorted through a forward step. Then he stopped, suddenly._

"_What's wrong with you?" he simply asked, as though aggravated to no end._

"_What do you think is wrong with me, with you waving that…thing around like that?" Marik couldn't even bring himself to say it, fearing that once he'd say the word, his fate would be automatically bonded to that disgusting thing._

"_The Millennium Rod is a necessary tool. You know that." The other said, casually._

"_Millennium Rod? What on earth does that mean?" Marik took another step back._

"_It is named like that symbolically, to indicate that the Sleepers will remain intact through our line for more than a millennium." The man patronizingly explained "But then again, you should already know that, shouldn't you?"_

"_Get away from me." Marik now started saying, in a raspy voice, his sky blue eyes looking at the man's hooded head as though he believed the person was clinically insane. He took another step back, his eyes flying to all directions. He had backed out into a corridor now. The green glow of the lethargic people's cocoons fell coldly on his face and illuminated his offender._

"_Are you playing games with me, 289?" the elder of the two asked, obviously annoyed._

"_289? What's that!" Marik questioned, starting to sound repetitive with all the questions._

"_YOUR CLONE NUMBER, THAT'S WHAT!" the other raised his tone of voice, brandishing his knife._

"_I AM NOT A CLONE!" Marik roared back "I'M MARIK, AND YOU'RE PROBABLY A TERRORIST WHO BURT DOWN THE WHOLE PLACE AND WANTS TO KILL ME NOW!"_

_The eldest stopped dead in his tracks. With a graceful move, he reached up and pulled down his cloak, and Marik literally screamed as he watched his own Father stare back at him, eyes strangely mutilated into a weird purple color- probably from his paranoia. He kept brandishing his knife, just like that day…_

"_AHHHH! Get away from me! Not you!" he yelled and made to run away, but the other was faster and stronger, and pulled him to the floor effortlessly._

"_Shut your mouth you sniveling brat. Come to think about it, I was never like you. Perhaps it's some sort of memory disorder or something. Maybe a memory anomaly in the system… but no matter. After the initiation, you'll be normal."_

"_NO! NO! LET ME GO! ISIS! HELP ME!" Marik cried, rivers of tears now falling freely from his pretty blue eyes. The man was holding him down by the calf and Marik kept squirming helplessly on the floor in order to get away. The cold, glassy faces of the Sleepers looked like they were sneering at him from their refrigerator beds,_

"_Shut up." The eldest said "Whoever you think I am, you're wrong. I'm just you, only thirty years older."_

"_LIAR! I'D NEVER LOOK LIKE YOU!" Marik screamed, his shouts echoing through the dead, silent halls. "NEVER LIKE MY FATHER!"_

"_Shut it." The other said and grabbed Marik by the shoulder, rolling him prostrate. The boy kept crying 'I don't want to die!' so the eldest rolled his eyes and pressed his knee on the small of Marik's back to stop him from squirming too much._

"_I'm not going to kill you, you idiot. I'm going to correct you. There's obviously some sort of fault in the system" And with that , his Father pushed his hand against his naked back, steadying him._

"_NO! NONONONO!" Marik cried, preparing for the worst. And it came, in the form of deadly electrocution._

"_AHHHHHHH!" he cried, as he felt something connect with the top of his back._

"_Coward" the eldest said "No one ever cries so much." He finished, then made sure he'd carved the first symbol correctly. It wasn't so important what the symbols said, just that the knife was transferring to the boy the sufficient energy for controlling the droid. But through the generations, a traditional tattoo had been made customary. It was the same that had been carved on the reception hall's walls._

"_ARGHH!" the shouts continued, and so did the squirming, making the whole process even more painful for the young. The cloaked man, annoyed by the commotion, gave his younger self a piece of cloth to bite into while all the symbols were being carved down his- now bloody- back._

_One by one, the symbols were carved. In each and every one of them, the eldest gave the sufficient electricity jerk through the rod, in order to make sure the correct frequency was printed on the boy's brainwaves, and they would synchronize with those of the rod, and the droid, of course._

"_NOOOOO!" Marik screamed despite the cloth, as he felt the unmistakably deep flash of electrocution hit him. His eyes, wide and unblinking, stared into nothingness, as he felt a beam of light explode in his brain, forcing his thoughts out and filling them with numbers and charts and stars. His head was throbbing, about to explode from overdrive as his torment was prolonged a thousand times in his head. He squeezed his eyes, not wanting to see the cold faces around, staring at him mockingly, even though their eyes were closed._

_At a particularly nasty carving, Marik arched his back helplessly, feeling the red liquid roll down his naked body and being inappropriately reminded of someone's red eyes- couldn't remember who's... But it all dissipated as he felt the electricity cover his limbs, destroy his sanity, meddle with his thoughts. Blue eyes were now wide, their pupils dilated so as to cover the entire retina. And the pain continued, and the blood flowed more freely, and his Father was as quiet and as efficiently merciless as he remembered._

_The beams of lightning covered his face, his nose, his ears, his entire brain, shooting through it like arrows, trying to destroy it! The god-damn electric knife. And so, in the middle of a green lighted corridor, behold the shut eyes of dozens of sleeping spectators, Marik was finally Initiated, his screams become much more drawn out, much throatier. At the peak of his torture, at the highest of his screams, at the uncontrollable convulsing of his stomach and liver, he raised his sapphire jewel eyes to the ceiling, and then, through the power of his electrical mutilation, they burnt into thunderstorm amethyst- unnatural and inhuman color, which would, from then on, spark thoughts of lightning in his brain._

_When it was done, the Father let him collapse to the floor, unspeaking, unmoving. Moments past like centuries, while Marik fought to find his breath, make his heart beat again. Make his eyes stop crying scorched tears, which let out a small spark of electricity when falling to the floor. He felt something cold and soothing on his defiled body, but didn't have the will or stamina to understand what was going on. He felt, but didn't see, gauges wrap around his torso, which hurt to even consider moving. He only had one question burning on his lips now, and it was simple. Why? Why had he been forced to go through this? Why did he have to become one of the screaming monsters in Kuru Eruna, after all? Why..? Just…**why**?_

"_You'll need some thing to eat and drink and… and painkillers for your back. We discovered at the early stages that it's better that the Initiation be done before you put something in your stomach. When you feel ready, you know where to find me." The one responsible for this casually said, and left in the darkness, but Marik didn't understand anything, red rivers now flowing from the new-carved relieves on his back, along with sweat and maybe tears, he didn't know._

_Fallen to the floor, panting, completely helpless, he felt something being thrown at him, and realized it was a cloak, dark purple, not unlike the one his 'Father' was wearing. Was it really his father? His father would have killed him instantly…But then…there were fates much worse than death. He'd just discovered as much._

_After what seemed like years of exhausted pain and comatose slumber, Marik stood up from his lying position, the dark corridors now seeming fuller than he ever wanted them to be. As long as the man who'd done this disgusting mutilation to him wasn't near…it was relatively okay…Even with the Sleepers hovering around him. Were his clones also 'Sleepers'? He didn't know._

_Over his head went the cloak, and the nearby slippers hosted his trembling feet. He cried then. Long sobs, echoes of a past long forgotten, of life dreams forever lost. Sobs and tears of hunger, need and loneliness tore through him, making him break down and cry. And now this…this needless desecration of his last citadel- his body- the only thing he had left intact, was inflicted on him, seemingly for the satisfaction of his father, who just had to be there still, even though the whole world had changed._

_-_

"_Have you completed the Initiation process?" Noa asked him, mentioning it as if it was a normal, everyday thing. But then again, what did a computer know of pain?_

"_It's…'complete'. " he answered, not bothering to hide his spiteful bitterness. But Noa wouldn't understand his pain. He had no one to share it with, apart from the friendly psycho who had done this to him._

"_Then welcome to Kuru Eruna, new Guardian." The hated words he had heard so many times were repeated once again 'Welcome to Kuru Eruna' 'Welcome to Kuru Eruna' what was 'Kuru Eruna', anyway, some kind of 'fun' ski resort meant to be advertised? IIt was a torture hall for experiments- yes, he'd figured it out by now- and it was the disgusting, freaky place that had ruined his life. That and the beautiful woman, who just had to stumble in his path when he was at his weakest._

"_Look, I just want to go outside, okay?" Marik said, trying not to cry from the memories. How unloved he truly was…how cursed and alone he had been, all of his life._

"_Shouldn't you rest a while first, Master?" Noa asked him, and he turned a full-fledged glare at the computer screen, even though Noa probably wouldn't care. But since it had called him Master, he supposed he had some privilege already, didn't he? OUCH. Oh. Right. He'd momentarily dared to forget about his pained back and now he was being punished for his impudence. By hurting._

"_LET. ME. OUT." He spelled out, his irritation showing dreadfully clearly, measured only near the ache on his back._

"_As you wish, then Young Master." The computer told him, and the doors to what he considered his salvation opened. He expected to see decontamination rooms and elevator platforms, but all he saw was a long corridor, a staircase, and a hatch on the ceiling, which Noa automatically opened for him. Marik walked out, thinking he'd see the sun for the first time since he'd entered that disgusting place._

_His back still aching, Marik walked up the stairs and climbed out of the huge platform, only to see that he was surrounded by a new darkness. A constricting darkness all over again. Only this time, there was no Noa to guide him._

_-_

"_Master" the familiar computerized voice called from its speaker. The eldest guardian of Kuru Eruna looked up at the call. He'd been preparing the meal for his young apprentice, when Noa interrupted him._

"_What is it?" he asked, not used to Noa speaking to him on its own accord._

"_I think you should be made aware of something. Just to make sure you're comfortable with it." Noa said, the AI voice unusually evasive._

"_Speak up then. What's wrong?" he asked again, now approaching Noa's interactive panel._

"_It's the young Master, sire." Noa answered "He demanded to be let out of the Tomb."_

"_What?" the other said in alert, then scowled in annoyance " What's the big idea with him? What's he doing outside right after the Initiation? Guardian's only exit the Tomb after the first five years."_

"_I don't know what's wrong with him, sire. He seems to be increasingly rebliious. I thought it wise you should know of this." Noa strategically covered up for the fault of letting young Marik leave so freely._

"_Show him to me." The elder demanded, and Noa provided him with a camera view of a small Marik, walking through the halls of the old factory, which was the Tomb's cover._

"_Dammit." The Elder cursed "I knew there was something wrong with him. The Secret is not safe with him. "_

_The Elder gathered his robes, preparing to go outside. He turned to Noa at the last moment._

"_I'm going to get him back. You call Kaiba. Tell him I need him here." He ordered and then left the room, walking down the halls of Eruna, long robes billowing after him. _

"_Very Well" Noa's loud voice echoed through the speakers in the empty halls._

_-_

"_What's your name?" the bald youngster was asking, his warm smile reminding Marik of all the things he couldn't have. Couldn't trust. Not after what the beautiful woman had done to him. "Are you lost?"_

"_I…I don't know…" Marik started saying, his form trembling with fright at all the fast flying things rushing around and at the thick atmosphere. There were people around him…people with strange arms which had…spikes on them. He was quite sure he'd be torn apart if close to them. But the older boy speaking to him…he didn't have these mutilated forearms. "Where…am I?" he asked, cowering backwards but getting a fresh jar of pain from his back "OUCH!"_

"_What?" the tanned bald man with the warm eyes asked "What is it? Are you hurt?"_

" '_M….I'm…" but he never got the chance to finish the phrase since he fainted, there, at the middle of the unnatural street, not managing to care if he would die or not._

_-_

"_You're awake?' a vaguely familiar voice touched his ears, and Marik's eyes slowly started to crack open, letting the warm light crack inside them. He was lying prone on a soft mattress, and his back didn't seem to hurt…yet._

"_I…I …" he started, but couldn't find it in him to finish the sentence. His eyes hurt, their newfound colour stinging him. And his back ached horrendously, proving it hadn't all been a nightmare. How could it? The pain was so real._

"_I'm Rishid. " the fairly recognizable bald man said, smiling "And this is my brother, Hubel."_

"_Hey there!" Hube's deep voice wrung from his left, and Marik turned painfully to see him. A stong-chinned man with wide shoulders and a strangely shaved head, not much unlike Rishid. Only his arms were covered with the spikes Marik had seen before on the passersby. He was scared of them, but didn't say anything, for fear of insulting kind-looking Hubel. He desperately wanted to ask about them, but held his tongue, for now._

"_Are you okay? We did out best with your back, but…wait a second. Are your eyes purple?" Rishid asked, his thick eyebrows raising at the sudden realization. The amulet earring on his ear clinked, reminding Marik of his Egyptian talisman back home. It was a hurtful feeling, yet he loved it._

"_Huh?" he suddenly realized what Rishid was asking him "Of course not. They're blue, see?" he asked and brought a finger to pull down his bottom eyelid, displaying his retina in a funny way, for all to see._

_The brothers laughed at the grimace he was making and Rishid eventually shook his head._

"_III don't think so. I still think your eyes are…lilac." Rishid concluded, motioning to Hubel for something. Hubel walked out of Marik's peripheral vision, but Marik was already answering Rishid' s question, so he didn't notice._

"_You can't make me lilac. That's for girls." Marik said, remembering Isis showing him all the colours when he was young and also remembering himself remarking that lilac got on his nerves, because it was 'too pink'._

"_Hahaha! You're a funny kid." Rishid remarked, making Marik smile in inhibition, thinking it had been a long time since anyone had talked to him so kindly. But he wasn't going to fall a couple of warm smiles so easily, this time. The last time it had led to his downfall. Now where would it lead?_

_Hubel handed Rishid a hand-mirror and Rishid presented it to Marik, who stared at his reflection as though it was going to bite him, failing to recognize the long hair and the…yes, **purple** eyes._

"_I'm…I'm…" Marik said in horror, grabbing the mirror from Rishid' s hand and staring at it in utter disbelief "I'm a girl!" he shouted, terrified, as though having just seen a two headed monster transform into the tooth fairy._

_The brothers laughed over him once more, shaking their heads at him as he painfully moved his hand to twist a long blond lock of hair around his index. "You're not a girl." Hubel said, patting the boy's head "You're just a funny kid." He said, and pulled the mirror away from an aghast, wide-eyed Marik._

"_So…" Rishid suddenly started, pouring everyone a cup of some hot, unfamiliar stuff "Wanna tell us how it happened?"_

_Marik sent him a confused look._

"_That thing…" Hubel filled in "On your back…"_

_They'd seen it! The defiled, disgusting scar! But of course they'd seen it! How else had they renewed the gauges around it?_

"_I…I…I'm not..I..." Marik started, but was cut off abruptly by Rishid "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." He quickly said, raising both arms in reassurance "It's just that the scars don't heal with any herb or medicine we tried._

'_Have you tried skinning my disgraceful back?' Marik wanted to ask, but thought better of it, since it wouldn't do to confuse people who were just trying to help, just because he personally hated everything about himself._

_And so, he spent a couple of days lying on Rishid's bed. He didn't know how to read, so he couldn't entertain himself with books. But he spent a good time looking at all the weird things he kept seeing around the house- things he didn't remember existing in his day and age. He asked around and learnt of Hyper-Arms, the spiky things on peoples' arms, which helped with their work in the factories, which he didn't know much about yet. He also discovered the date. Year: 2637. He spent entire days thinking about it, in proportion to his waking up in a blue clone cocoon…but he couldn't find the solution, no matter how hard he tried. The only thing he knew for sure was that something had happened to him in Kuru Eruna. They'd done something to him that he was unable to remember._

_Something was wrong. Not with him, but with the world, which had suddenly progressed 600 years since the last time he was awake._

_At the third day of his recovery, at night, shouts were heard in Rishid's house, and sounds of death echoed in the night. Marik knew those sounds now. He'd heard them in his own house when he was a baby…now he was hearing them a boy. He tried to deny the fact that he'd always been hearing them, during his stay in Kuru Eruna. Idly, he wondered whether any of the last breaths he'd heard during his stay at Eruna had belonged to the man with the red eyes, whose name he couldn't remember._

_.Rishid rushed in Marik's room, trying to move the child out of the house while he still could, but he was too late, since the cloaked men had already broken in._

_Marik didn't remember much. Only a pistol aimed at him and a dart hitting his chest. He looked at the anesthetic, then at Rishid, who had a similar one stuck on his back, and then Marik looked at his own hands, seeing them painted red with Rishid's family's blood. The cloaked ones had been looking for him, after all. Rishid's family was innocent…Now they were dead because of his presence in their home._

_He was the one who'd killed them. He was just like his father, after all, and if his worst fears were true, he'd look like his father when he grew up as well. _

_He lost consciousness._

_-_

_The next time he woke up, he was tied to a bed with chains, which were linked around his waist and in every one of his limbs. The guilt and weight of Rishid's family's death hit him full force, and he started flailing his head right and left in desperation, for once not caring about his hostageg state, but about the people whose lives he was responsible for. He saw a metallic ceiling with green lines, reminding him eerily of the Kuru Eruna he knew in the past. He looked right and saw his friend, Rihsid in a similar position as he, only now deep in slumber. _

_Another flash of drowning self-hate and guilt drowned him. He was responsible. He was a murderer. Last but not least, Marik saw the robed figure of his purple-cloaked father, his sardonic face hooded and concealed. He had the familiar Rod in his hands, and Marik's flesh became rippled at the mere sight of it. Upon seeing him, Marik started howling in terrible fear, only for his screams to be held back by the gag around his mouth. The gag he hadn't even noticed was there, in his frantic craze._

_Upon haring his muffled cries, his Father and the man he was conversing with turned to smirk at him. Marik hated them even more for that._

"_Told you about that one." His father told the other man, laughing mockingly "Screams like a bitch. You should have seen him before; in the Initiation ritual."_

_The other smirked "Wouldn't want to damage my eardrums, Ishrat. I'll just leave that to the manipulative pigs who deserve it, like you."_

_Very tall and impressive, very young-looking, that other man. He wore a silver trenchcoat: a colour that reminded Marik of glamour almost as much as gold did. High boots adorned the man's calves, leather straps attached over his elbows, on his arms. And overall, the imposing blue gems of his eyes, shining cold and steely dead, utterly emotionless. Marik felt jealous, remembering his own ex-blue eyes, and how they'd now been defiled for all the world to see, unlike his back._

"_Watch your tongue, infidel. I want their memory completely erased, d 'you understand? Both of them." The Father said, and Marik felt his blood run cold, having heard that phrase about memory before, in what seemed like a whole lifetime away._

_The man with the brown hair and blue eyes nodded in comprehension "Completely erased, you say? Why not just have them killed?" he asked, and Marik immediately screamed in protest at that, deciding he didn't like this guy at all. At some point, Rishid also started to wake up, and was seen thrashing around wildly when he saw Marik and their surroundings._

"_I don't want him completely trashed." The other answered, shrugging, and Marik found it ironic that the particular man would come to his salvation. "He might be worth something. Who knows? I just want you to erase his memory completely and put him somewhere where we can easily control him. You can do that, right Kaiba?" the Father asked and raised the Rod to Kaiba's eye-level, obviously threatening him with it. Marik thought he would use the knife to hurt Kaiba unless he complied, but the real blackmail reason was far different than that…_

"_Fine." Kaiba huffed, imperceptibly flustered "Have it your way. There's a planet where we have many 'contacts'. It's isolated. Poor. He'll never get the chance to find out anything over there." Kaiba finished._

"_I want to be able to see what he's doing. At all times." The cloaked man said, staring thoughtfully beneath his hood at a struggling Marik._

"_Very well. We'll install the code inscriptions in a house, connect them to Noa' s main circuit, and there you have it. You'll be able to see though the camera-inscriptions at all times."_

"_Oh?" the other asked, unimpressed "And how do you suggest we do that, genius? How will you make sure Marik's going to be in the house you build for him? And where are you going to put the secret inscriptions?"_

"_Pfft. That's the easiest part." Kaiba huffed "Honestly. Ishrat. You have to get out more. Don't you know of a little thing called technology, or is that too advanced for the TOMB GUARDIAN?" Kaiba mocked " Seriously. I'll build the symbols in a cave under the house. As for where Marik goes…I'll take care of it."_

_Ishrat eyed him up and down, very suspiciously "How?" he asked._

"_I'll use my contacts to make sure your little self gets where he belongs." Kaiba confidently said, bringing his palm up and studying his nails meticulously, a smug expression on his face._

"_Let's not forget who orders who around here, shall we?" Ishtar threatened again. Bringing his Rod back in the discussion. "However" he changed his tone "Maybe you're right about him. We should just kill them and be done with it. This sounds like so much trouble, anyway…seeing as his brainwaves are now adjusted to control you as well, this could prove quite dangerous."_

_At this, Marik's ears perked up. Control him? He could control Kaiba?_

_Kaiba shrugged at Ishrat "I told you it would be easier."_

_Ishrat nodded, his hooded head bobbing up and down. "Very well then. I see no reason to hinder any longer. You 'take care' of them. I'll make sure another clone- a normal one- takes his place." And with those words, Ishrat was gone, his suffocating presence finally leaving Marik alone. But now he was stuck on what he'd heard. He could control Kaiba? The same way the scientists in Kuru Eruna said he could 'control' that microchip. Maybe he had a chance on saving himself and Rishid, after all._

_Marik thought it was worth a shot. Trusting his short experience, he closed his eyes, focusing only on Kaiba's presence and on what he wanted him to do. "Don't kill us. Don't change our memory. Don't kill us, don't change our memory.' He repeated the mantra in his head multiple times. Calling all his willpower to assist him. Suddenly, in front of him, Kaiba jerked and grabbed his head, as though something was hurting him._

_Seeing this, Marik intensified his efforts, until finally Kaiba jerked up and stared at him with his arctic eyes. Marik stopped. If the gag wasn't around his mouth, he would've grinned._

_Kaiba turned around, raised his hand and started talking through what looked like a watch-walkie-talkie "yeah. Prepare the surgical room. Yeah. Full memory removal. Okay. Uh-huh. I'll take care of it. Done. Over."_

_Marik's eyes widened, his brain working overload. Hadn't he just commanded Kaiba not to change their memory? Why wasn't it working?_

"_Naïve child" Kaiba sneered at him as he walked to his bedside "You'd think after all these years, I would have become a genius about how to cheat Ishrat's orders. You see, many a time have the two Master clones disagreed about things, and I've had to choose an alternative. Do you really think I would've fallen for a command as simple as yours? You forbid me to kill you, as Ishrat orders, but I choose the alternative window you left for me. Of course I won't** change** your memory. I'll erase it. All of it. Destroy it completely and pulverize it. And you know the best part? As long as he's not directly involved, Ishrat won't even mind if you live."_

_And then he was gone too, and Rishid with Marik were left alone, their gazes locked and alarmed all the same. Marik wanted to say, 'I'm sorry; to Rishid, about what had happened to his family, but he never got the chance, before white-clad sterilized people, came to take him to the surgical room, with his miserable cries echoing in the distance._

_-_

"_Who am I?" he simply asked, lost in a haze of a daydream condition._

"_Your name is Marik Ishtar. That's all I know. And that we lost our memory in a hover accident." The bald man beside him answered, his eyes looking blank and empty, as though something was missing. Marik wandered if his own eyes looked like that as well._

"_How do you know?" Marik demanded curiously, dying to know more about everything in this world. But he was dizzy, for some reason, as though his brain had just gone through a frying pan._

"_Someone told me before we got on this ship." The bald man answered from beside him "It's taking us to a refugee planet. Yango, I think, is its name." He concluded and looked at the distance, out the window of the spaceship._

"_Who are you?" Marik simply asked, for lack of anything better to say plus he found this crucial detail missing._

"_I'm Rishid. Your servant. I didn't manage to collect more information."_

_Marik nodded, not questioning the seemingly all-knowing man. His eyes fell on a pamphlet on a table nearby and he stared at it, unable to understand the strange chicken scratch on it._

"_Hey. Rishid" Marik started saying._

"_Hmm.." the man answered coolly. Apparently he had been lost deep in his thoughts._

"_Will you teach me how to read?"_

_-_

_When they reached Yango, a guide to their 'house' was already waiting for them. They were told he'd been informed of the accident and of the fact they didn't remember things, so he led them to what he claimed was their home. Marik didn't understand, but didn't question either. He just accepted things as they came, and followed the guide to a sturdy-looking small house, with light blue fungus outside it's front door.._

_-_

_Rishid was a great tutor, and a great companion as well. Unlike the other kids of his age, Marik was strangely anti-social and inhibited. He stayed at home studying most of the time. He enjoyed playing old-style chess with Rishid. He enjoyed walking down the cool aisles of Virna at night, when the sun didn't burn his head._

_He interacted sufficiently with the inhabitants of Yango and the other kids. He didn't go to school with them, since he had Rishid' s private tutoring, but when he did visit the school at daytime, he'd see people staring at him strangely. He thought it was because of his strange eyes, the colour of which he had never seen in any other human. People staring really did get on his nerves. _

_He discovered the…thing on his back the first time he remembered going to the bathroom. He cried and cried and wailed endlessly about it. He grew hating himself for it, and when, at his adolescent years, he reached the stage of attempting to kill himself because of this mutilation which was stuck in his head, Rishid carved scars on his own face, telling Marik that if the boy thought he was mutilated, then he should die too._

_Marik denied frantically, and mourned again for what his arrogant behaviour had forced Rishid to do. He continued being extremely self-conscious about everything –and especially his back- but never again thought he deserved to die because of his body's mutilation. It was their common pledge with Rishid. The man who had become his brother._

_Almost every single girl in the vicinity was batting her eyelashes at him by the time he was fifteen and had developed his personal style -kohl, armlets, earrings…the usual Virnian fashion-, but Marik wasn't interested in any of them. Somehow, something kept him back. As though a nameless fear coursed through him at the very thought of human contact, in general. He felt a strange dread when alone in a room with older men, except for Rishid, of course. When judging women, he always preferred the ones with ebony black hair and light blue eyes, but never had any thoughts of being in love with them. These were strange behaviors, not completely adjacent to what his adolescent conduct should have been._

_Never one to waste a good offer, however, Marik used this new-found charm to try and get people- especially brainless females- to do what he wanted. Male adolescents of his age often respected him because of his prestige with women or his above average social status. He had a servant and a good house, after all. But most young boys admired him because of his studiousness and fervour about everything he ever did, including his passion with the martial arts and being able to defend himself. With older men he fraternized as little as possible, constantly aware of their strong jaws and hard knuckles. Maybe golden knives were hidden in their clothes, Marik thought for absolutely no reason, whenever he talked to one of them. Maybe they'd rip his back apart. He didn't even know what he was thinking._

_Once, he had walked in the garden and noticed a wooden trapdoor aon the floor. He'd followed the crypt to the end, until he reached the hall with the glowing symbols. That's when he first started getting scared of himself, and thinking there was maybe more in his lost memory than what he was being told_

_Rishid and he talked about it a lot, with Marik making many references to what he'd heard was a medical company in the rich Mercury planet. Marik thought he could find a way to restore his memory there; Rishid urged him to go alone, without him. He wanted eighteen-year-old Marik to become independent._

_Marik went for the interview. He hadn't graduated from a serious university, though. He had no experience and no recommendations, and he lived in YANGO, for goodness sakes. But when Kaiba Seto himself came to see him, he immediately approved of hiring him. Marik was perplexed, and immediately knew there was something wrong with him…and that that something had to do with KaibaCorp. Why would Kaiba hire him just by hearing his name and taking a look at him, after all?_

_He moved to Mercury alone, painfully aware of Rishid' s absence from his life, and started his new career as a scientist wannabe. When walking in KaibaCorp's halls, he felt somehow uncomfortable at seeing all the people with white robes walking around, and he wore his own white coats only when necessary. Under normal circumstances, he despised them, for some reason. Them and those god-damn decontamination rooms._

_But he found that, overall, nothing had changed. Women still fell at his feet with him doing absolutely nothing to provoke them, except maybe winking, eye-contact sellers still refused to sell him contacts, saying it would be a shame to hide his 'beautiful' eyes, and Kaiba Seto seemed to be following his every move like a vulture preparing for its favorite meal._

_Marik was never one to follow the 'wild life' even though most of his colleagues assumed he was something akin to a male stripper or a club patron by night. That wasn't true, though. He was just the only person from Yango who had managed to get a job in Mercury, he thought, and his clothing habits drew attention. Contrary to general belief, though, Marik stayed home most nights, either reading a book about memory restoration or entertaining himself with his computer, or just plain slacking off._

_It was then, at the nineteenth year of his life, that Marik finally started having what other men normally experienced in early adolescence. Sexual desire. But of course, it was only muffled breathing at the middle of the night, never actually doing something about it. Neither with a woman, nor with his hand. What frustrated him the most, however, was that he couldn't actually understand what it was he saw in his dreams, that he was so dreadfully **attracted**__to._

_He saw long legs, overly pale and thin. He saw soft curves, ones that could only belong to a woman; but then, the sight of a masculine chest would confuse him, and visions of his own dark hands fisting in raven black hair absolutely disoriented him._

_He knew that what he was afraid of, more than anything, deep down, was a man. His worst nightmares were of a man more powerful that he, hunting him in the dark. How was it, then, that in the midst of his darkest moments, he'd dream again of a man, only reversing everything in his twisted conscious? Making a strangely defined man become the absolute trophy of his desire? Making the fear of the dark reverse to pleasure in the dark?_

_He really disgusted himself. From the bizarre eyes to the scarred back and the strange complexion._

_And that was the end of it_

_-_

It really was the end of it, since Marik opened his eyes, and realized were he was. Realized what the hell was happening, and why his mind felt ready to implode. He stood up, failing to notice his body was still surrounded by electric shocks, his eyes glowing almost translucent from the Rod's activated power on him. His hair standing on end, his veins popping everywhere around his face. Marik finally _knew._

"MARIK!" Tea was screaming at the top of her lungs and right before his eyes, Marik saw the figure of his own body, preparing to strike a familiar albino down. It was the replacement. The poor replacement of himself. Another clone.

But his clone never made it to hit Bakura, because Marik had pointed the Rod at him and focused all his brain power on it. Two seconds later, the clone started screaming in the Rod- induced pain Marik himself had been going through in what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Did you know that Ishrat made a dreadful mistake with meeeee?" he called at the man he was torturing, the man who had his face, yet none of his experiences. Marik didn't fully understand what he was doing. He dragged his tongue out and made a crude gesture at the clone.

"Hahahaha…." Marik was laughing, veins popping from his forehead, his chin, everywhere. Bakura was staring at him with disbelieving eyes, but Marik never noticed, too preoccupied with his insane revenge to care. And it would be great…it would be a great revenge. For all of them

"The thing is…I already had the right brainwaves when he initiated me….I had the prototype's full memory bank….therefore, I already had the right waves. But the Initiation made me _more powerful! More!more!more!_" He said, making all the occupants of the room, Rare Hunters and not, stare at him in confusion "You know what that made meeee? Ahahahaaa…." He laughed at the other's horror twisted face. He felt the Rod in his hand, giving him power, making him even stronger.

"That made me…more powerful…than you!AHAHAHHAHA!" he guffawed as he hit the man with more and more constricting power waves. Not only the clone under him, but Bakura, Dark Yugi, Kaiba and all the other Rare Hunters started screaming as well, grabbing their heads. His power seemed to affecting them too! But Marik was too lost to care. Too much power.

Too many people to kill, so little time.

"Kill you!" Marik screamed, completely glad at having this cosmic revolution "Destroy! Destroy everything! Destroy Eruna! DESTROY THE UNIVERSE!"

Serenity, who was the only one unaffected by the commotion, along with Tea, saw everyone hollering in pain and clutching their heads.

"Marik no! Don't do it! You're killing our friends! Marik!" the girl yelled, but realized he couldn't hear her. He just continued with his ravings. Then she turned back and saw all her loved ones practically dying, and decided she'd done enough talking for the day. No wait. Enough talking for her whole life. Now was the time to act.

Bracing herself against the electric shock she was sure would follow, she ran with all her might against Marik. It was true that it hurt when her body collided with his electrified one, but at least she managed to knock the Rod away, disorientating him and making him fall.

"Serenity!" Tea shouted and ran to her friend. Serenity stood up just in time to present the view of a seemingly 'burnt-out', fried looking Marik.

"Oh no! " Tea anxiously exclaimed "Marik!" and she bent down to caress his face, trying to comfort his tense expression. The protruding veins started disappearing from his body. His pretty hair fell back into its normal feathery halo around his head. His fried clothing, still massive only over his left arm and on his legs, stopped shooting lightning sparks every now and then.

Soon, Bakura was over him, opposite Tea. Uncaring whether he'd get electrocuted or not, Bakura the Heartless reached out and gathered the boy in his arms, turning to look at a hopeful, yet startled Serenity. He nodded at her and turned away with Marik still carried in his arms, and Serenity knew that this was as much of an acceptance, or a thank you, she'd ever get from him. Marik's blond strands flew prettily with each of Bakura's movements, since the tanned boy's head was arched downwards. Bakura pulled one of his friend's arms over his shoulder and set out to carry him away, over the ruins of their fights.

The remnants of Marik's temporary insanity were obvious. The clone on the floor was petrified, unable to move. Yugi seemed to be regaining his consciousness, but Kaiba the weak Rare Hunters didn't revive from the sock for a while, and when they did, they'd just stand still and stare forward, like robots who didn't know what to do. Ishrat the Eldest was still nowhere to be seen, but nobody could bother to care.

Serenity, who now knew of the importance of Bakura to Marik, didn't even bother about asking about Ryou's return, since it was obvious this was not over yet. Their questions had still not been answered. Who was doing this? What did they want? What was this place?

Meanwhile, Bakura led a worn-out Marik into one of the dark alcoves and walked a little further into the darkened corridor. Finally, he stopped and bent towards the side of the hall, sitting against the nearest wall and propping up against it. He held Marik in his embrace wordlessly. Not speaking, not moving, maybe not even breathing loudly so as not to wake him…who knows? Marik wasn't warm this time. He was cold, frozen, electric. Bakura didn't want him to be like this. not Marik, who was always the picture of life in his head.

Until finally, a muffled gasp came, and Bakura felt a mouth latch onto his throat in the darkness. He felt Marik's free hand rise up and swing over his shoulder, and he listened at Marik's now calm, recovered breath. Maybe there were sobs too, but Bakura just held on the other's back carefully, so as not to hurt him, and waited.

"…" Marik didn't speak, just buried his nose there, in the warmth of Bakura's throat. His torn clothes made him cold, but he couldn't care less. Now he felt warmer than ever.

"I'm sorry." Marik finally said, his voice throaty and deep in Bakura's ears.

"What happened?" the albino just asked in a hushed voice, afraid that if he spoke too loud, he'd scare Marik's newfound heat once again.

"Do you know what it's like," Marik started , tightening both arms around Bakura's shoulders and allowing his temple to rest on the albino's shoulder "to wake up with memories…and know those memories happened while you were in another body that just looked the same? Some of them happened while you were here…some of them while you were in another body…I'm a clone, Bakura. I was born a…a clone. I have somebody else's memories. I…I'm…fake. I even hate the word 'clone'. I can't stand being one of them…"

A long pause. Then Bakura spoke, very slowly and in a whispery voice "I…don't care" he simply said, remembering his torturous flashbacks. In the distance, he could hear their friends talking, shouting and squealing in joy at having made it alive.

"..You say that now…but you haven't seen it. The millions of cubicles with me inside them…the clones…you haven't seen them sleepi-"

"Shhh…" Bakura's finger was now upon his lips, silencing him, and Marik finally let out a breath and calmed down, nodding in the darkness.

Bakura couldn't see Marik's face in the complete darkness –not even the customary sparkle of his eyes. Everything was completely dark and still. The atmosphere thick and murky. Bakura felt the other's arms around him, holding on really tight. He'd maneuvered their bodies so he knew Marik's face and his own were inches apart from each other, even if he couldn't see the flawless features in the dark. He couldn't see in the dark when in Ryou's body, since he was using mortal eyes…but he just knew where Marik was. He could feel it.

"I still don't care."

At Bakura's words, Marik's hold became even tighter, constricting even, but Bakura didn't mind, because in the darkness, nobody could see his face and read his emotions. The darkness was his friend, and he could manipulate it. He retaliated Marik's tight embrace by holding on the other's waist, pulling him forward gently, while leaning in, trying to breathe through the pounding of his heart. The air he was breathing was suffocating- warm. The space around was tight. He felt he couldn't breathe in Marik's embrace, the smell of what he thought was soil and lightning was attacking his senses, blinding him, drenching him in its mystical odour.

"You really are Nehti…aren't you?" Marik asked, the darkness of his eyelids covering the darkness of his vision. Bakura understood what Marik had said not because he was paying attention, but because the exhalations were breathed directly in his mouth.

"I… don't care…" Bakura stubbornly repeated in a much deeper tone, and leaned even further in, wetting his lips with his tongue eagerly.

For one millisecond, the heat became unbearable- so strong, that he knew when this was over, he'd never want to return to the cold again. Marik's fire was scorching him form the inside out. Unable to take the pressure of this suffocating heat, Bakura finished the movement of his scoop, finally reaching the core, where wetness and heat became one, and the taste of nothing he'd ever tasted attacked his senses. That, coupled with the scent, was enough to drive him crazy.

Crazy for more, Bakura dragged his hands up softly over Marik's half-exposed back and to cup his unnaturally handsome face, pulling it closer still. More wetness; more warmth. Bakura followed his natural reflex, thrusting deeper in the warmth, wanting to go deeper, deeper, to dominate the wet cave completely, to fill it with his own essence. The lack of resistance made his stone heart swell with the happiness of acceptance.

He felt Marik split his lips only slightly, and didn't even wait for a better invitation to push his tongue through the slit, opening Marik's lips with his own. Teeth clashing together now. Tongues twirling around one another. Mouths sucking each other greedily, intending to swallow down as much as possible. Bakura opened his eyes, not wishing to lose one moment of it, begging all his borrowed senses to participate, now that they still could.

The kiss went slow, their tongues carefully caressing one another, finding frenzied passion in prolonging their desire. Bakura fleetingly remembered what Ryou often thought about kissing Serenity, and how –sweet- Ryou always said 'Serena' tasted. Well, Bakura thought, Marik didn't taste at all sweet. He didn't taste bitter either. He didn't _have _the taste of a simple food. He tasted like _Marik_ –not food- and he smelled like _Marik _-not flowers. It was a man, and he smelled like power and mist and tears and heat. He smelled like _Marik_.

_Oh…_and his moans sounded like the growls of an excited wolf, growing more feverish with each moment. Bakura was _kissing_ Marik. Kissing the long-craved lips. The mere mental sight of those juicy tissues was enough to make Bakura thrust violently against the other's mouth, this time not bothering about teasing but caring more about _taking_. Taking the heat, the wetness for himself. Bringing so much of his passion in Marik's mouth that he felt saliva escaping down their chins.

Bakura felt fingers fisting in his hair and he let all urges break loose, relinquishing control over his teeth and proceeding to bite and suck into his pliant victim as much as he could. Marik didn't even dream of protesting, feeling the albino's mouth slip over to his throat, sucking at it hungrily, just like a starving vulture. Marik let his mouth drop open, freeing a series of heated gasps and pants; his eyes rolled back and closed in bliss just as he tugged on Bakura's hair roughly enough to hurt.

But Bakura naturally didn't care about pain, only about heat and life- the life of the jugular pulsing under his lips.

Unable to stop it, and unthinking of any possible consequence, he opened his mouth and _bit down_, his teeth **sinking** deep, bringing too much pain, so much, that it became pleasure. Marik _howled_, his back arching uncontrollably, his fingers burying in Bakura's hair and pulling at them in animalistic need, feeling the smudged cherry mouth of the albino _suck_ and _suck_ and take everything from him at once. Bakura's arms around his aching back hurt, but the pleasure was enough to surpass any other feeling. Blonde locks flying in all directions, Marik's head lolled up and down, his mouth wide open and moaning wantonly as Bakura lapped at every single ounce of skin- his throat, his shoulder, his collarbone. And then, back to his mouth, starting a kiss much more brutal and passionate than the one before. Again their saliva mixed in their mouths, again the friction of their bodies brought fevered moans to their kiss. Marik was lost- lost in pleasure that he'd never believed possible before.

"I want you" Bakura growled roughly, after the wet sound of their lips parting. He yanked thoughtlessly at the other boy, suddenly landing them on an opposite position: Marik's back glued to the wall, long, tanned thighs squeezing between them the albino's hips. Lips wide open and gasping frantically, as Bakura's hand roved every bit of skin it could reach.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" An alien voice suddenly sounded, and both of them stilled their movements in a second, literally caught in the act. But in the darkness, they couldn't see who had spoken and could only hear the bemused silent sniggers. "Didn't I say you were a bitch the day I first met you? Your general anomaly obviously extends to this level as well…" and there was more laughing, and Marik suddenly realized who the speaker in the darkness was, and unconsciously squeezed Bakura against him as tightly as he could, probably trying to conceal himself and not let show the shoulder that had been exposed, or the bite-marks on his neck, fearing, somehow, that now he'd be punished for it.

"And…oh dear….tsk tsk tsk. Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is our favorite boy on the floor? And with a man no less…but Nehti!" the man continued, enjoying the torture.

Bakura growled at that, earning new hordes of laughter. Marik cowered behind his silver-haired lover, fighting to keep the newfound memories out of his head. Trying not to let the sadistic laughter echo in his mind.

"Father…" he simply said, drawing a confused Bakura's attention. The man in the darkness clicked his tongue in annoyance and raised a light-chip, igniting it and making pure white light glow all over them, revealing Bakura and Marik's suggestive pose for all the world to see, including their bruised lips. The light revealed, however the cloaked man's face as well, bringing his grey-blond beard to the light, and the familiar- yet-foreign lavender eyes in common view.

"How many times must I tell you, boy?" he asked, clearly agitated "I'm not your father. I'm just yourself, only thirty years older."

"I know." Marik simply said, fisting his hands in Bakura's shirt and pulling him closer with trembling shoulders, making the albino finally understand the extent of fear that Marik felt about this Ishrat man. The albino narrowed his eyes, unable to understand why Marik was so afraid of this punk, all of a sudden.

"That's why I hate you more." Marik concluded, making Ishrat smile in homicidal satisfaction.

"You should" he answered "Because no one can be allowed to be so special so as to get the original's memory. Why do _you_ get to be special, and not me? What do _you _have that makes you capable to leave the Tomb as though it means nothing to you?"

Marik shivered in Bakura's arms and the spirit glared at Ishrat while hugging Marik close, hiding the blond's miserable apparel beneath his strong shoulders.

The old man's eyes narrowed even more at this display "Why do _you, such a coward,_ get to have someone to be with, while _we_ just live and die here, alone? You're just another one of us! Another clone! Why do you get to be number 289 and not me? What have you got more than I do?" the man demanded and approached the entangled couple on the floor.

"You better be afraid of me, Marik…Because I'll do my best to be worse than your father" the man said, and Marik realized the one he feared was probably himself, not his father. He was afraid of what he was, what he could grow into…Afraid of the torture he had put himself though and what he'd done to Rishid's family…Afraid of this heartless man who cared for nothing except himself, and who willingly put his younger self though a torture no child should have to endure.

"Bakura…" Marik started saying, trying not to sound to much like a frightened little girl. But Bakura didn't 'seem to mind, since he held Marik tight in his embrace and glared at the Reaper above them.

The battle had only just begun.

**WhOA! This, my friends, is HUGE, not only in size, but in importance as well. Mar and Kura in love? Kura protecting Marik? Marik: the clone! What is this, anime crossovers? Man, I must be on serious drugs to be writing this stuff.**

**I'm telling you, I think this chap is pretty dark. Lots of bleeding, screaming and salivating (for various reasons)**

**Please, guys, write me a review. This thing is the biggest chap I've ever written, and I'm exhausted. Please tell me: was it worth it? Could it have been better? Do I suck in smut scenes? (I think I do…)Do I use the words 'terror' and 'scream' too much (just kiddin)? Gimme your honest opinion. Did you like this? I'm not sure I do, that's why I wanna know what the majority thinks. Please, I'm begging you here. Tell me if this (forty-four page) thing is worth it.**

**OKAY. ON TO THE REVIEW ANSWERS.**

**Anubia: Thankyou sososososo much! I'm so sorry I never got to answer last time, and it was really rude for some great reviewers (like you ) but I swear I was SO tired, I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I just answered some reviews and just put the names for others! This time I'm answerin' though, so bring it on! Did you like this chap? Was it too dark? Was it inconsistent with the rest of the story? Ahh…forget about it. I hope you solved the mystery on whether Marik is a clone or a brother! I promise you, in the next fun-filled chappy, more answers will be solved! YEEEEHAHH! I'm SO GLAD YOU LIKE THIS!**

**V son sayian: I'm so glad you like it! You know you're a great reviewer, who has very objective views? You liking my story is like getting the personal achievement I'm looking for! I'm so happy you're actually sticking with this! I must admit, I'm always kind of worried with this story, that if take one wrong step, the plot will deteriorate. And truth is, let's face it, I really suck at smut scenes and my writing isn't that advanced, so there's nothing there to draw the reader, except for a good plot! I'm really happy you like it! I'll do my best for you!**

**Lily Of the Shadow: I know what you mean. Sometimes, I just think of where this story began and were it has taken us…I think that in the beginning, the characters were all so different than what they are now…I am proud of this story, both because finishing it will give me a sense of personal accomplishment and because I want people to read fanfiction and be able to appreciate it for what it is. You know, many people read fanfiction with a mentality of 'it's just FANfiction, it's nothing SERIOUS, after all' but I disagree. I think it's great that all these people want to be so creative with something they like. And when I say I want to see readers appreciate fiction, I mean that I wish less people would focus on soap-opera love stories brought to fanfiction and more people would appreciate the serious stories, the ones with a plot, a meaning to exist, apart from: "MALIK IS SO CUTE!" Ya know?**

**Raptorous Voice: I hope you're happy with my fast update I wanted to surprise you all this time! I hope you like this!**

**Aseria: I know, right? I was dead for months, but now I'm up and about again. Posting here, posting there…getting a brain overload here, frying my braincells there…I'm telling you, this 'major plot' thing is a real headache. How am I supposed to make it WORK! Ahh…but that's the beauty of it, isn't it? The angst…the passion for the story…the passion for Kura…OKAY. Gotta stop here! CYA!**

**Pihorist: Is this your new name, Uber Rei model? I'm sorry if you're someone else, but it just sounds so much like Uber Rei…I'm so happy you don't hate me! I was so worried ppl would stop reviewing because of my update delay! I'm so glad! I love you too!**

**Anime-Fan-Meepa: HEY! I'm so glad you're here! I know the plot is really confusing. Really, only my brain knows how I manage…(shakes head) BUT, the Kura/Marik moment was worth it, at least for me! Well, I'm not revealing to you if Baku gets a bod or not (I'm sure if he will, it will be HOT), but I can safely say I have thought about the SCAR, and…I am still thinking bout it. I thought this chap was sad (apart from gory) even at the smut moment…I don't know. All the time I kept thinking 'what has Marik gone through, what has Marik been through' poor kid, that's all I can say. Poor me for inventing such a dark chapter- imagine what goes on in my brain while I'm sleeping. Urgh. Can't watch (covers eyes) too much blood! Too much sick gore! Too much Marik/Bak action! AHHHHHHHH! Seriously, though. I think this chapter was good. Even though there must be many typos, I really worked my ass off for it. I'm sure the plot is now jangled up, but it's gonna clear up. Writing about the Mar-Bak-Seren- Ryou love puzzle…omg, what a mess. Poor Marik and Bakura, who want to be together but can't…poor everybody! Oh, hey, Anime-fan, please tell me which part of the chap you liked the most and if the smutt scene was good! I really want to know what you think about it! Ok, until next time! **

**Gelap Gelta: Omg! You woke up at 6 in the morning to read my story? This makes me a happy gal for the rest of my life, I hope you realize. What can I say about the HUMUNGOUS review? Where do I start! I'd think a normal THANK YOU would be enough, but it's not even near compensation for how happy you make me. Here you go (gives Gelta a life-size Kura doll, complete with fangs and red-eyes and hot abs and all…)…Oh! But not even THAT is enough! Oh well. LUV YA LUV YA LUV YA LUV YA….ooookay, now I'm getting dizzy from all the 'l's and the 'v's…Okay, so listen up. When I say 'Marik' I mean, Marik, the hikari. Yami Marik appears in this story only one time. You just read it in this chapter. Yami Marik appeared when Marik was screaming 'DESTROY DESTROY KILL' etc…That was Yami Marik, but I didn't say "Yami Marik" because it doesn't stick with the plot of this story. Let's just assume Marik got a little wacky for a second there…but hten Kura kissed him and everything was fine. In case you didn't read it at the top of the page, I'm telling you now: Nehti is just a name I use for Bakura in this fic. I'll explain why in later chapters…This is definitely not self-insertion. I just chose my penname to be 'Nehti' because I liked it a lot! Don't be confused tho. When I say Nehti in the fic, I mean Bakura. You'll see why! There are probably loads of typos in this chap, but I'm so tired to recheck AGAIN. I hope there aren't too many. Oh! I just thought of a way to compensate for your great review! I wrote you this chapter, because you're going on vacation and I wanted you to enjoy it! I hope you have a great time! Ok, CU next time! Hugs and kisses! WAAAAIIIII! **


	18. CodeName: Omega

**Well, people, I gotta say…This chappy is full of explanations and solving of mysteries, but also packed with sentimental romance stuff. So be prepared, fearless leaders, to face the ultimate trial. **

**Notice how Serenity's character is developing through the chapters (her change will be more pronounced in later chapters). Note how her character is when she is with Ryou, and how she develops when she stands alone. I think her character is much more interesting than it was in the beginning of the story!**

**I think all characters have developed, actually, even the scorned Tea, Ryou and Hikari Yugi. If you really think about it, they're all better people than when they started off.**

**I hope you enjoy this chappy! More authors notes in the end of the page!**

At first, Bakura thought Marik had just been startled when he saw Ishrat hovering above them. But when minutes passed and Marik cowered behind him even more, Bakura started to worry. Marik had been acting strange, in all possible points of view, there was no denying it. Bakura had assumed it was natural to be shaken after just being extensively tortured by the Rod, but Marik was acting strangely in general.

First of all, there where those weird things he'd said before Bakura kissed him. Clones. Replicas. Memories. What the hell was this all about? Bakura didn't' understand a thing out of what Marik had been saying, but honestly hadn't cared either, at the time Now, however, when he saw Marik hiding from Ishrat – the blond bearded man above them- Bakura realized there was more to this situation than he could possibly know of.

Something had transpired when the Rod had fallen on Marik. Something that had to do with enveloping the blond in a wave of electricity…Seeing Marik's sudden, unexplainable fear of Ishrat the elder, Bakura witnessed the full extent that this…_change_ had had on Marik. Oh he was still Marik, all right. Only he was a vastly more inhibited, terrified Marik.

But Marik was by no means a coward, and Bakura knew that. He wasn't inhibited either, as the sultry seduction techniques proved. Therefore…what the hell had happened to scare Marik out of his wits and disorientate him enough, so as to make him so…_afraid_ of Ishrat? Well, all right, Ishrat was pretty creepy. As was the rest of Kuru Eruna. But, come on…spookiness had never scared Marik before! It must have been something else.

Something Bakura would have to find out.

Right now wasn't the time for careful deliberation, however, seeing as Ishrat was still standing in front of them, a crazed look on his face, which was illuminated by the light-chip. Inwardly, Bakura smiled at one of his thoughts. Ishrat couldn't possibly harm them. If he tried to fight them in physical combat, Bakura and Marik –assuming he'd be not too afraid to help- could take him down fairly easily. He was an older man, after all, and Bakura, whose strength was recovered from before- was much more powerful than he.

The best part of this was that Ishrat couldn't use the notorious Rod against them either, since the specific instrument was safely tucked through the belt of Bakura's black trousers. Bakura had been inconspicuous enough as he'd picked it up from the floor when Serenity had shoved Marik away from it. Bakura had carried Marik away, of course, but not before he stealthily hid the Rod in his clothes, with the agility of a long-trained thief, or a feline.

Therefore, nobody knew where the mysterious Rod was, and Bakura would not reveal he had it unless it proved absolutely necessary. If Ishrat tried to attack him mentally, for example. Of course, Bakura had realized soon enough that he could not use the Rod himself. When he'd taken it in his hands, he'd felt none of the electricity that had hit Marik. Bakura couldn't use it himself…but Marik –and everyone who looked like him, in this weird place- could.

Thus, Bakura just stayed put, watching the other carefully as though expecting an offensive move at any moment. At the feeling of Marik's arms tightening around him, his frown towards Ishrat deepened, daring the man to even so much as think of attacking them. If he tried to get to Marik, Bakura would slit his throat in an instant. With his bare hands.

Ishrat seemed to be enjoying Marik's torture thoroughly, smiling down at the tanned boy with a satisfied sneer of unconcealed derisiveness. Bakura's glare sharpened even more.

"So, then. The reaction really did take place. I was worried something like this could happen if you came in direct contact with the Rod…" Ishrat told Marik in what could have been considered a regretful tone "I should have bee more careful."

Marik glared from behind his silver haven "You should have."

Ishrat's right eye twitched a bit in aggravation. Bakura realized they were talking about things he didn't know, and that irritated him thoroughly.

"So, now you know." Ishrat concluded, giving Marik a weighing look, as though judging from appearance how dangerous the blond was. "Pity. I would have preferred you ignorant, but the fact that you remember doesn't make you less helpless, you realize." The man warned.

Bakura's trail of murderous thoughts suddenly paused, getting a very ominous feeling "You…remember?" he turned to Marik, asking him in disbelief. "You got you memory back?"

Marik nodded slowly, leveling his eyes with Bakura's "Yes," he answered, in a ragged voice "All of it."

Bakura made an expression of half-surprise, half-disbelief "How?"

Marik opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Ishrat, who'd come a significant amount of space closer when they weren't looking, Bakura unpleasantly noted. "How do you think?" he asked rhetorically, his wild lilac eyes flashing.

Bakura lowered his eyes to the floor, thinking. The suspicion that had been lying in his mind all along resurfaced "The Rod." He said in a voice that betrayed his sudden enlightening.

"Of course it's the Rod, you ignoramus! How could it not be?" Ishrat now said, obviously annoyed at Bakura's apparent slowness "I was stupid enough to Initiate him while he still had his memory intact! His mind and the Rod synchronized, like it's supposed to happen, only he had a memory anomaly all along, and his faulty memory was recorded into the Rod! It would be natural that his brainpower would instigate the exchange of memory, once being touched by the Rod!" Ishrat explained everything in one breath, obviously tired of this silly game of twenty questions. He wanted to be done with this as soon as possible.

"Initiate him?" Bakura asked, his red eyes now narrowed to slits. He didn't like the concept of this 'initiation' thing one bit. "What the hell does _that_ mean?"

Ishrat rolled his eyes, not even bothering with Bakura's question and ignoring the albino completely. Instead he turned to Marik "Give me the Rod." He simply ordered. Marik noticed some sort of force trying to break its way through his mind, and smirked, temporarily forgetting his fear, in the face of Ishrat's weakness.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked a flabbergasted Ishrat. Marik didn't even bother hiding is snort "You'll have to try a little harder than _that_." He said, referring to Ishrat's fruitless efforts to manipulate his mind. "You're nothing without the Rod. Are you?" he reveled at this new discovery. Maybe the man he feared was not all-powerful, after all…

Ishrat seemed sufficiently irate for Marik's taste, and the boy was particularly glad to see he had struck below the belt. Apparently this was what could set Ishrat off. Besides, Marik didn't even have the Rod on the first place, but he wasn't going to tell Ishrat that. He'd just keep on playing this game, not relinquishing control until there was no other choice.

Marik felt the slight nuisance in his brain intensifying slightly, trying to break through, but he completely ignored it. He turned to Ishrat, noticing a vein throbbing on the man's brow. He must have been trying with all his might to break Marik's defenses. Too bad Marik couldn't feel a thing, except maybe a slight sting.

Bakura, who'd been watching the strange faces and listening to the words, had long ago realized that what was being said in this place was much less important that what was _not_ being said. Therefore, he observed the commotion- offensive faces included- and caught on pretty soon. It was a mental battle.

Ha! But…could Ishrat focus both on his brainpower, and his body? Bakura was resolved to find out. Besides, Marik didn't seem to be in vast trouble, and Bakura thought he'd better get rid of Ishrat before the man noticed him and manipulated him into handing over the Rod- which Marik still didn't know he held.

Therefore, Bakura wasted absolutely no time. Seeing as Ishrat was absolutely engrossed in whatever he was doing with his brain, he wasn't at all focused on defending himself from physical blows. Therefore, it came as extremely easy for Bakura to jump out of Marik's embrace –startling Marik in the process- and proceed to literally pummel Ishrat to the ground. Ishrat, who hadn't even realized what was going on during the first blows, but was now completely aware of Bakura's fists throttling his ribs. Repeatedly.

Marik wasn't extremely distracted by the mental battle, so when Bakura suddenly jumped away from him, he instantly realized what was going on. Ishrat, now groaning painfully and cursing, was trying with all his might to escape Bakura's claws, while Marik kept watch from the side, unwilling to come closer to Ishrat than necessary- even when Bakura had practically knocked him out.

"Marik, you okay?" Bakura shouted over Ishrat's cursing, trying to get through to Marik, who reassured him with an affirmative. Bakura had not been very careful, though, and Ishrat finally succeeded in shoving him away, forcing the albino to fall backwards on the floor with his rear. Marik immediately shot up, standing over the commotion and preparing to help Bakura, despite his trembling knees.

Bakura, not one to give up so easily, made for Ishrat yet again, but the older man had already rolled to the side. Thus, Bakura's knee cap- which had been intended to pulverize Ishrat's head- hit the floor. Cursing, Bakura turned to the side, only to see Ishrat crouching on the floor, watching him with a heated glare in his eyes. Nursing his bloody jaw, Ishrat turned to Marik and narrowed his lilac orbs even more, their glow turning from malicious to homicidal.

"Mark my words, boy. This isn't over yet!" and with those words, the light-chip was extinguished and Bakura and Marik's eyes were suddenly blinded by a thick smoke. They both covered their noses and tried to grope for each other in the resumed darkness. Finally, Bakura caught a solid hold of what he could only assume was Marik's shoulder and held on tight. After a lot of coughing and cursing, the smoke finally dissipated, leaving behind it a black void where Ishrat had been.

"Is he gone?" Marik simply asked, not knowing whether to be glad his nemesis had left, or sad that the archenemy hadn't been killed. At least not yet. Because Marik's resumed courage had optimistic plans for the future…

"Yeah…one of those smoke devices, I guess" Bakura said in an annoyed voice, referring to smoke-chips, which can unleash great amounts of misty smoke when handled properly, as he'd discovered in Mercury, during their escape from KaibaCorp.

The shouts of their friends from far away broke through the disappointed silence that had fallen between them. Disappointed because, once again, they'd lost their chance to spend a few private moments _and_ because they hadn't managed to get anything else out of Ishrat.

"Um…we better go…" Marik advised, not really knowing how to act, now that all these things had happened to him one after the other. First the torture with the Rod, then his returned memories, then the temporary insanity which nearly caused him to kill all his friends- and especially Bakura…- and know the feverish feelings about the albino…

He wanted to kiss Bakura again, and be with him alone, for once…But, for some reason, he got the feeling that before this ordeal was over, they wouldn't have their craved private moments. Besides, even _after_ this was over, Ryou would probably want to go live somewhere far away with Serenity and Marik would have to be separated from Bakura…unless he asked Ryou to give him the Ring, but still…it wouldn't be the same.

Unless…there was that slim possibility…from what he had been told…maybe there was a body somewhere…the body from his memories…but, no. That was too risky…he couldn't place his hopes on that.

"Yeah.,.." Bakura's seemingly distracted voice answered. Maybe this had been a one-time kind of thing? Maybe Marik had thought of it only as a couple of gropes in the dark, some kissing, and that was it? Maybe…this was all Bakura would ever get. He didn't really know, but under these circumstances, shouldn't Marik be…closer to him…after what they'd just done? But this was all so confusing, and Bakura was never good with words, so…

Dragging their feet on the ground, both of them walked heavily, thinking of all the things weighing them down, and all the reasons why their relationship…attraction…_thing _couldn't possibly work. They walked down the narrow corridor until they saw the soft blue light of the main hall breaking through the darkness in the far front. They both knew that once they stepped back in the light, they'd have to start hiding again. The things they thought and did with each other were dangerous in the eyes of others…They were wrong in front of Serena, who loved Ryou with all her heart; wrong in front of Tea and Yugi, who'd never be able to understand this sentimental intensity. Once in the light, they would be washed and cleansed of their sinful realities, and forced to go back to the adventure. Back to the goose chase.

Marik felt Bakura's body heat, and realized that Bakura must have come closer. The tanned youth wanted to force himself to believe it was because the corridor was too narrow, but…he couldn't stop himself from reaching out suddenly and grabbing Bakura's hand. The albino's comforting presence had been too tantalizing beside him, and Marik had been so alone for so long. The mere thought of losing Bakura drove him insane. He squeezed the hand in his palm and felt Bakura squeeze back. Marik smiled in the darkness. True, the light would force them apart, eventually…but the dark could still shade them, when no one was looking.

Bakura's heart was overloading with blood, his head suddenly airy and high. It was stupid, he knew. _Too_ stupid. Too mushy for a man-demon of his prestige. He always sneered at the mushiness of simple holding hands. But…it was proof. Proof that it hadn't all been a fling. Unthinking, he pulled up Marik's hand and kissed the back of it, hoping Marik hadn't noticed that his stupid lips were shaped in a –completely stupid- smile as he kissed it. Marik let out a sigh, which reverberated strangely in Bakura's own lungs.

The albino looked forward, in the approaching light, and felt his heart become heavy. He made sure to decrease their walking pace, trying to enjoy as much of this as possible. When they were out of the dark, they'd have to stop holding hands…they'd have to stop sighing dreamily and smiling completely stupidly. Bakura noticed that Marik had willingly slowed his pace too, but didn't once think to mention it, being too absorbed in his –stupid- thoughts of somehow locking Marik in his dark, dark ring, where light never shone.

-

Serenity was this close to plucking her, admittedly wonderfully shiny, hair out. Marik's clone twin brother- or whatever the heck he was, apart from the leader of the Rare Hunters- had recovered from the shock he'd received from Marik before. In fact, everyone had recovered. Yugi was fine, tended to by Tea, who was hugging him frantically, telling him how worried she'd been and asking him if he was okay. The Rare Hunters had come to their senses as well, including a strangely expressionless Kaiba. Man, didn't this guy _ever_ show _anything_ on his arrogant face? Serenity saw the GOULS, or infamous Rare Hunters stand up, and like zombies walk around blindly, as though waiting for orders. All except Kaiba, who just stood in the corner of the room, seemingly observing the situation. But if one looked closely, like Serenity did, one would notice his eyes were not moving at all, as though he was frozen.

Unbidden, Serenity's eyes slipped to Joey -the brother she'd been longing to reunite with all these years- only to see his hardened face stare blankly at the distance, his strange eyes devoid of all emotion. This wasn't the person she remembered…he wasn't the man she'd missed and dreamed of. He looked different, apart from the zombie conduct. He was taller than she remembered- although he'd always seemed extremely tall to her younger self- and more calloused. His face, always joyful and bright, was weighed down by the troubles of adult life. Dark circles around his eyes betrayed his problems, and his awkwardly twisted arm- courtesy of Bakura- had been broken.

Strange, that Joey didn't even seem to care about it, save for the occasional flinch of pain. When the Leader finally recovered from his lying stance on the floor, Serenity motioned for Tea and Yugi to keep their eyes open. The man, who resembled Marik extremely to the last blond hair, took his head in his hands, applied a little pressure, shook his shoulders, as though recovering from goose-bumps, and stood up. Serenity noticed there was a huge red blotch staining the back of his black shirt. How she could see the blood through the _black_ shirt, you ask? Perhaps because it was also staining the better part of his beige trousers.

He started to consciously take in the surroundings- including his GOULS, who were aimlessly walking around-, and when his slightly demented glare reached Serenity and her friends, she sincerely hoped Marik and Bakura would be here soon, wherever those two idiots had left to.

The Leader took a step forwards, making Serenity and Tea draw back, while Yugi stayed put. Interested at Yugi's conduct, the Leader eyed him carefully and once again, Serenity was amazed at how much this guy resembled Marik, especially when he wasn't acting all paranoid and cruel.

"Tell me where he is, and I won't hurt you" the man said with a flawless replica of Marik's voice. The Game King didn't seem to respond directly, but his eyes kept roaming around, as though weighing his predicament. This 'Leader' had just threatened him and the girls…he obviously wanted to know where Marik was. But what Dark Yugi paid special attention to was that the Marik-look-alike wasn't holding the Rod in his hands. In fact, the Rare Hunters were still walking around guilelessly.

If this man could really hurt them, or at least take them hostage, or something…wouldn't he have already done it? For some reason, Yugi really thought this assumption was correct. Moreover, the all-powerful Rod was nowhere to be found…didn't that mean that this leader was crippled now, without his instrument of manipulation.

"How can you be so sure I know where he is?" Dark Yugi supposed it would be wise to stall for time, at least until Marik and Bakura returned. Since the Rod was nowhere to be seen, one could only assume they had taken it.

But the Leader did not speak, only unexpectedly lunged forward and grabbed Tea by her waist before Yugi or Serenity could react. Before Yugi could rationalize with the situation, he realized Tea was held hostage, the leader's –Marik's clone's- face leering at the girl held painfully in his arms.

"Don't play games with me, Atem! Tell me where the Rod is, or your pretty girlfriend gets it!" and with this, the leader brought out a pointy chip of some sort, which was hidden in his robes. He pointed the sharp edge at Tea's throat, exactly over the jugular. Yugi, who'd never seen such a device before, stared at it in confusion, making the leader smirk. Alarmed by this unexpected twist in the situation, Yugi's worried eyes turned to an absolutely terrified Tea, who was staring at him with tears in her wide eyes.

"Yugi…help…" she whimpered, and was immediately silenced by the leader's hurtful pressing the sharp chip against her throat.

"Tea!" Yugi desperately cried, then turned his enraged eyes to the leader "Let her go, you fiend!" he demanded.

"Not until you tell me where the Rod is" the Leader snapped back, watching Dark Yugi's pupils dilate in fear about his beloved's well-being.

"I…I don't know!" Yugi honestly said, trying to keep his calm while hearing Tea's –and Serenity's- anguished cries.

The Leader snorted loudly, then pressed the chip even harder against the girl "Nice going, Emperor, but you'll have to do better than that. " he concluded, then leaned in to lecherously whisper in horrified Tea's ears, making sure Yugi was watching the entire display.

"LET. HER. GO" Yugi know shouted, his eyes seeing absolute red at the harsh treatment of the cobalt-eyed girl.

"Tell me where to find it, and I'll let her go." The leader egged again.

"Let her go and I'll tell you" Yugi bluffed this time, hoping for the best. But it wasn't enough to fool the other, apparently, since the leader started cracking up wildly.

"Honestly, Atem! Only you could be as thick as that!" he remarked amusedly.

"Why do you keep calling me that? What's with this place?" Yugi suddenly couldn't take the stupid name-calling anymore, and felt obliged to ask. Naturally, he did not receive an answer.

"I. WANT. THE. ROD." The Leader said now, apparently having lost his patience. "Tell me where it is!" to punctuate his will, he pressed the pointy chip harder against Tea's throat, drawing an imperceptible amount of blood. Tea squealed helplessly and started wiggling like a dying fish in the leader's arms, trying to escape. But the man held her down, his eyes sparking daggers at a now terrified Yugi.

"WHERE IS IT, ATEM?" he demanded again, and Yugi thought that pointing the man to a random direction would be better than remaining silent and watching Tea faint.

"He went that way!" Yugi pointed to a random dark arch, making the Leader turn and watch where the other was pointing. Then, he smirked at Yugi and turned his eyes meaningfully towards Tea. Yugi's eyes widened in horror, catching on immediately.

"You said you'd let her go!" he accused, not believing he actually fell victim to that ploy. Even if he hadn't revealed the real pathway, he still had believed the Leader would keep his word.

"Well," the blond man started, laughing cruelly, his demented eyes flashing murderously "I lied." He finished, and with a swift move assembled the sharp chip in his hand and buried it deep in the back of Tea's neck, not her throat.

"Ahhh!" the girl screamed desperately for a few seconds, accompanied by the desperate "NOOOO!" by Yugi. Serenity watched, absolutely horror-struck, as Tea stopped screaming suddenly and what seemed like electric sparks flew around her head. And then, the girl's blue eyes turned blank, and she stopped screaming all together.

Snorting, the leader finally let her go from the embrace of death, the sharp small chip still impaled at the back of her throat. Serenity's terrified realization was finally complete, when she saw Tea join the ranks of walking Rare Hunters.

"NO! TEA!" Yugi wailed desperately, approaching the woman and trying to shake her shoulders to wake her up. But before he could touch her, Tea had already whirled around, blank eyes fathomless, and hit him savagely in the face. She was now untouchable. Just like the rest of them. Serenity couldn't believe she'd been so stupid that she had missed it. All of them had chips on their necks. All of them: her brother, Duke, Tristan, Mai…

It would be okay. Her brother wasn't gone forever. Serenity now knew: if she could remove those chips everyone would be back again.

"Tea…" Yugi desperately called, his voice heartbroken "Tea…" then, he turned viciously to where the leader had been standing "What have you done to her you fr-" but the leader wasn't there any more. Serenity and Yugi both belatedly realized, they'd been paying too much attention to the Rare Hunters…that they hadn't seen the man run away- probably towards the direction Yugi had indicated as the way Marik and Bakura had gone with the Rod.

"Serenity!" Yugi's voice suddenly addressed her, and she quickly nodded "We have to take them out! We have to take the chips out, but how?" he asked her.

"I don't know…" she thoughtfully said "It seems easy, but when we try to approach them..," she thoughtfully let it trail on.

"They'll automatically fend us off." Yugi concluded for her. As Serena watched the walking mind slaves rotate around the room, her eyes fell unbidden upon Kaiba, who was still standing motionlessly on the side. 'I wonder if _he_ has a chip on his neck too…' Serenity thought suspiciously, reassuring once more that Kaiba- though a mind slave too, apparently- didn't behave like the rest of them. There was something about him…something very, very strange going on with him…

"Hey, guys! So what did we miss?" was heard a familiar, strangely joyful voice suddenly. Both a startled Serena and an outraged Yugi turned just in time to see Marik and –who else?- Bakura walk out of a dark alcove. Serenity narrowed her eyes in confusion. Well, that was weird. She'd…never remembered seeing Marik quite so…elated before. Strange, considering the circumstances and their surroundings. It wasn't long until she realized Bakura was also acting weird, a sort of faraway look in his eyes. He wasn't smiling widely, like the other, but he seemed distracted enough to be considered daydreaming.

Okay…something was going on here. Something…strange. What could have possibly happened to those two, while they were gone? Could they have discovered a great secret? What happened?

Yugi, however, was having much different thoughts. Marik's ear-to-ear grin annoyed him even more. "You idiot! If you hadn't been so late, Tea might have still had a chance!"

The aforementioned grin was instantly wiped off of Marik's features, bringing a troubled scowl in its place. Bakura also seemed shaken, since he turned and stared at Yugi with mild curiosity. Overall, Serenity was strangely sad to watch the change, remembering that her friends didn't seem to smile at all any more. Only scream and cry.

"What?" Marik asked, puzzled.

"Tea!" Yugi repeated again this time pointing at Tea, who was roving around the room like a robot, not once reacting to the call of her name "She's one of them now!"

Seeing this, Marik's eyes widened in honest surprise "Wha—HOW? What the hell happened?" he only asked, sputtering with words as he stared at Tea in absolute disbelief. From right beside him, Bakura aimed him a mildly disturbed look, as though worried for the tanned boy. It didn't go unnoticed by Serena, who had been keeping close watch of those two since the incident in the hovercraft, where Bakura had cried and Marik had been left screaming. Something about those two…something weird was going on, and she wouldn't let it rest until she found out what.

"Your stupid TWIN, that's what happened!" Yugi shouted, irate and heartbroken "He wanted to know where you were, and when we couldn't tell him, he put a chip on her throat, and made her one of them!"

"Are…you serious?" Marik didn't know what to say in this situation, his previous happiness now vaporizing completely at being faced with all this weight of responsibility "I mean, I…I'm sorry, I…"

"So? Why can't you take the chip off?" Bakura simply asked, shrugging. He wouldn't allow another historical Marik break-down, no matter what he did. 'Just keep the cool' he thought 'make it seem less dramatic than the Drama Game Queen is going on about'

But Bakura's relaxed conduct intensified Yugi's ire even _more_ seeing as nobody seemed to care about Tea enough in order to help him "I ALREADY TRIED THAT, YOU VILE INSECT! If you'd paid more attention, you'd know that every time we approach one of them, they'll hit us automatically!"

But, unfortunately, Bakura was very close to losing his own temper, let alone rescue Marik's. From the side, Serenity was observing the situation intensely, suddenly extremely conscious that she was the only woman in a room full of emotionally tense men. Even if she did try to say anything, she knew it would fall on deaf ears. A woman could either have men do whatever she wanted, or be pushed around by them like a doll. Unfortunately, since the men in this case were too loaded, it would be the second.

And there was no Ryou to support her.

"If you hadn't been so long!" Yugi finished "You might have caught him before he hurt her!"

"Hey, Game-Fucking-Genius!" Bakura roared, now losing it completely, while Marik just stared at the floor guiltily, all signs of a radiant smile long gone from his face "Who says we had a peachy time? Did you know Ishrat just attacked us? He wanted the Rod too!"

"Oh yeah? Is that so?" Yugi shouted, now unable to contain his fury "Is that why you came back smiling as though the five suns had just dawned, because Ishrat attacked you? How stupid do you think I am, you idiot bastard?"

When Bakura started to move forward, as though advancing against Yugi, Serenity jumped up and started protesting. Marik grabbed Bakura's arm, pulling him back, while Bakura kept trying to shake Marik off, still glaring death at the Game King.

"Bakura…" Marik was saying "C'mon…let it go…Bakura…"

"Let it go?" Yugi ostentatiously barked "LET IT GO?" he cried again, as though in total disbelief of what he was hearing "I'M the one you should be asked to 'let it go', not he! Whose friend is now a robot? HUH!"

"Hey!" Serenity's voice was suddenly heard, high amongst the male baritones "You can't say that! You can't say Tea isn't our friend too, just because we couldn't-" but Bakura interrupted her, as men always do with women's optimistic speeches.

"See here, your royal fuckness! Just because YOU couldn't fight and defend your own woman doesn't mean it's our fault! You should be able to do things by yourself by now, big boy! You don't need us to wipe your ass!" Bakura shouted, finally managing to fling Marik away from him and freely advance on the King.

"It's not my fault he was looking for the Rod!" Yugi roared, pointing an accusing finger at the albino, which Bakura pushed away once it poked his chest.

"Well it's not Marik's fault he can't always be there to fight your battles!" Bakura screamed back, intending to crush the other's thick skull by his voice alone.

"Bakura, don't do this. It _is _our fault!" Marik shouted from somewhere in the background, but his words only served to anger Bakura further.

"Shut up!" he shouted, this time at Marik, his eyes never losing the King's " I'm taking care of this once and for all! Don't you get it? They actually tell you this shit and you believe them- that's why you always lose it in the end! It's not your fault, and if this stupid fuck can't accept his own cowardness, I'm gonna _make_ him accept it!"

"Don't you see this is exactly what they want?" Serenity suddenly inquired "To break us up from the inside! Don't do this!" Serenity egged, but Yugi was already shouting, ignoring her.

"Oh!" he cried "And don't you think it's time YOU took over YOUR responsibilities? What's with the Rod, Marik? Why are you able to control them? Why did you try to kill us before?" at Marik's guilty expression, he turned back to Bakura "And you! Once Marik is unconscious, you just take him and leave! Just like that! Do you understand the reality of the situation? We are in this completely weird place, ALONE, and you just LEAVE, without saying why or how or when? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING!"

"Exactly!" Serenity tried to interrupt again "We have to stick together, we have to-"

"OH yeah?" Bakura roared back "And why are you fussing over ONE woman, when other people have their brothers and best friends out there! She'll be fucking fine! They all will!"

"And who's gonna do it! HUH?" Yugi answered ironically "Who's gonna do it, since Marik is the only one who can control them, and all Marik can think about is leaving with you and hiding when we most need him?"

Bakura took a few deep breaths, clenched and unclenched his fists in irritation and inquired "Is it Marik's fault you _always_ need him, _your highness?" _he inquired, unnaturally calmly, while Marik could be seen from the back, shaking his head in near desperation.

"Well, he's the one who can control the Rod." Yugi now answered, his voice slightly more placated also "He's the one who was electrocuted and didn't even get a scratch."

"What the fuck! " Bakura now shouted, enraged once again "'WITHOUT A SCRATCH'? HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN HIS BACK, YOU IGNORANT SLIME?"

"The only thing I can see" Yugi pointed rigidly at the telltale sign, the feral bitemark, carved on Marik's throat like the relieves that were scratched on his back. "Is that _thing_ on his throat! What's the matter Bakura? Suck his blood too?"

"HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU ISHRAT ATTACKED US?" Bakura now yelled, losing all semblance of control.

"Oh?" Yugi mockingly answered "As if _Ishrat_ would bite him on the neck! Who are you kidding, huh? I saw what you did to Saif on the hover! You're the only one who could've done it! But this is beside the point. The point is that because of your escapades Tea's-"

"NO! Tea's a zombie because you couldn't fight! Accept the goddamn truth!"

"No, YOU accept the truth! Just because you wanted to-"

"If you were more of a man she wouldn't-"

"-have a private chat with our fearless leader-"

"-have been turned into a-"

"-Tea has to be a-"

"ZOMBIE!" they cried together in finality, pointing at each other and glaring, both of them utterly red in the face. Marik was just staring, biting his lower lip now and then, his hand now covering his throat to hide the mark. Serenity, on the other hand, was aiming a full fledged glare at the two quarrelling men, as though ready to explode. And explode she did.

"Are you done? Happy now? Good." She asked in an ironic voice, and finally, the others gave her their undivided attention, albeit still glaring at each other. "Because, if you're finished with your stupid fighting, maybe it would be nice if you remembered we're STILL STUCK HERE, ALONE, IGNORANT, AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS SATISFIYING YOUR GOD-DAMN EGOS!" she yelled, making all three of them revert their eyes and huff indignantly, avoiding her eyes.

"Do you understand we don't know where we are, or what we're doing? For once, forget about your stupid arrogance and get us out of here!" she continued, this time aiming the statement at Yugi and Bakura.

"Serena's right." Marik interrupted, his calm voice strangely quiet, compared to the heated tones of before "You should stop fighting over what I should or should not do." If one knew where to look, they would have seen Marik looking at Bakura as he said that "What's happened has happened. It's too late to change that."

"Exactly." Serenity lost no time in agreeing, her lips pursed as she stared at Yugi and Bakura, who both had on their faces the expression of a boy scolded by his mother "Tea's one of them now. We can't change that, at least not yet. So I suggest we focus on what we know, and try to make it out of here alive."

"I agree." Marik rigidly said, making it clear that if there was a repetition of the aforementioned quarrel, he would not stay in the sidelines again, but rather stop them immediately. Besides, that little comment of Yugi's about the bite on Marik's throat had hit a little too close to home…better if they stayed as far away from the topic as possible.

"Fine" Dark Yugi spit out, in a resigned yet angry manner "But you're going to tell us everything you know. For once, I demand to know the whole truth. Everything. I'm not letting Tea rot here!

"Don't worry, Yugi...We'll get Tea back. And Mai, and Joey, and…Rishido…" Marik said with a sigh, and brought both hands to his face, rubbing his eyes. He felt Bakura come to rest in his usual place beside him, and inwardly smiled. Although he knew the feeling was wrong, it was good to know Bakura had just defended him in a fight…

Serenity and Yugi also approached, forming a tight circle around Marik, who now paced around thoughtfully, carding his hands through his hair and thinking "All right." He said, in his most practiced 'leader' tone "the first thing we have to do is gather our knowledge, or else we'll just be sitting ducks in here."

"Exactly what I was saying." Yugi filled in, with an indignant scowl and his arms crossed over his chest. Bakura uninhibitedly displayed Marik's feelings, by openly rolling his eyes.

"Yes." Marik repeated, not bothering to take serious notice of Yugi's words "Okay. We know that Ishrat –the older guy who looks like me-"

"That's Ishrat?" Serenity asked in disbelief "Then who's the other guy, who looks exactly like you?"

Marik felt this would be a looong explanation. Instead he settled for "The older guy is Ishrat for sure. I don't know the other's name. Anyway, we know that both of them are somewhere out there, in the dark corridors. We also know this place is like a maze."

"We know that if they hit you with a microchip" Serenity filled in "You become some kind of a mind-slave who obeys to that God-damn Rod."

"Do you think Ishrat is watching us right now?" Yugi suddenly asked, eyeing the ceiling of the room they were in, trying to distinguish cameras or camouflaged devices.

Marik thought about it for a few moments "It's highly possible they can see us, but not hear us. You see, Noa can-"

"Who's Noa?" Bakura inquired suddenly, and Marik belatedly realized he had forgotten one crucial detail in this conversation. The others didn't know what he knew. He hadn't told them about…his memories…yet.

"Uh…" Marik tried to think of the best way to approach the subject, when Serenity spoke.

"Marik, how come you know so much about this place?" she asked "Have you been here before?"

At this, Bakura turned towards Marik, suddenly remembering what Marik had told him, about the restoration of his memories "Mariku." The albino started "when the Rod touched you…what did you see?"

Marik turned to Bakura and sighed "It's a long story." He simply said.

"Well it's not like we have somewhere else to go…" Yugi dryly commented, still eyeing the staggering Tea in mild anxiety.

"That's right." Serenity added "Marik, you have to tell us. We need all the information we can get."

Marik nodded quietly, then ran both hands through his hair and sighed "Well." He started "all right. But don't say I didn't warn you."

And with those words, the recitation of the tale begun, from which Marik omitted only a few details, like the appearance of a red-eyed man with black hair. He'd tell Bakura in private about that, he thought, remembering why he'd let himself be lured to Kuru Eruna in the first place. The hope of restoring Bakura to his body…the hope of discovering the mystery…

For the time being though, as always, it was better if Marik didn't provoke much hope in Bakura's heart, only to prove it was false later on. He wasn't planning to mention Bakura's body, unless he was sure they could still find it, somewhere.

-

"Hmmm…Interesting." The purple-cloaked figure on the right commented, as he watched the happenings in the main hall, through Noa's screen. "Very interesting…"

"What can be more interesting than fixing my back?" the vexed youngster with the bloody black shirt and beige pants wined, lying prone on a nearby table "Hurry up." He asked.

"Shut up, you selfish idiot." Ishrat administered, turning to his successor –a youngster he considered his son- with absolute annoyance "If you'd killed them immediately when you had to, we wouldn't even be having this problem."

The young man sighed in bliss as the man he had known as a father started lathering up cream to soothe his back.

"Now all we've got is another mind slave. Not only that, but you actually bought what they told you about the Rod, and spent more than ten minutes looking for it in the wrong place." the father complained, rubbing a little harder than necessary.

"OUCH! Well, you don't have to be so adamant about it! Fine, I made a mistake. It won't happen again." The young man begrudgingly admitted.

"You bet it won't." Ishrat said, clearly annoyed "In fact, you're going to make amends for it right now."

His 'son' blew a loose blonde strand from his forehead "What are you on about? You know that he's more powerful as long as he has the Rod. I can't hit him while he's got it."

"This is ready…" Ishrat said, referring to the other's back, and left the table to sit in front of the computer screen again "What you said is true…while the clone holds the Rod, we're powerless…but…" at this, he pointed at the screen "They're confused. They're still lying in open view, at the main hall. We know the Tomb much better than they- this can prove to be an advantage."

The younger snorted. "So? That doesn't mean anything. We still can't get the Rod from him."

Ishrat rolled his eyes "Did you not hear even the slightest fragment out of what I just said, 290?" he inquired in aggravation.

"Well, excuse me if I was a bit preoccupied with the blinding pain on my back!" clone number 290, the younger one, said. "What did you mean anyway?"

Ishrat smiled "That we can use their sluggishness to confuse them. It's true that we can't steal the Rod from the clone…but we can blackmail him by using someone else." He let that statement impose its full weight of the other, who was waiting for the solution to this puzzle impatiently.

"What do you mean? Who did you have in mind?" 290 asked, now clearly interested.

"Who else…apart from the one closest to him?" Ishrat said darkly.

"You're not making any sense, you know." The other absently commented "In case you didn't notice, he has the Rod, so we can't just attack his friends… Oh shit! I just remembered, I had to meet Saif tonight to give him the-"

"You IDIOT!" Ishrat roared "Have you learned nothing out of what I have taught you, apart from ignoring everything you hear and making deals with scum? Since we can't get to the clone, we'll get to the one who's close enough to him to have access to the Rod!"

"Which iiiis?" 290 probed "Oh come of it! Just tell me and get it over with! I hope I'm not like you when _I_ grow up…" he added as an afterthought.

After a brief glare, Ishrat resumed his explanation, knowing that if not for the previous words, surely the next would catch 290's attention "Less than half an hour ago, while hiding in the halls, I caught Nehti and our dear friend in a very…compromising position. "

290 seemed vastly interested, all of a sudden "You don't say…" he commented while grinning darkly.

"Oh yes I do" Ishrat said, mirroring his grin " It seems our clone is in _love_ with someone, and a hologram, no less. So, since we can't hit _him_ directly, we'll hit the closest source possible." After the meaningful glance they shared, they simultaneously said, with the same evil smile "Nehti."

"But how?" 290 asked, his brow furrowing in thought "Nehti can also be manipulated by the Rod…but we don't have it! How do we blackmail number 289 into giving it to us? We can't possibly blackmail Nehti without the Rod…and no matter what you say, I'm NOT going to fight him again. Apparently, Bakura Ryou's body still retains the speed-boosts."

At this, Ishrat grinned in pleasure, turning slowly to look at the dark screen, which now featured four people gathered in the far end of the main hall, sitting down and talking. Ishrat's eyes fell on the back of a silver head with pretty spikes. The albino's eyes were focused on the clone solely, not once looking away, as though mesmerized. Ishrat grinned wider.

"Who said anything about fighting him?" Ishrat's smile got broader and broader with each passing moment. His eyes narrowed impossibly now "Now that we know who his _sweetheart _is…I've got a better idea."

Had one been standing near the room, they would have surely heard the echoes of evil laughter rippling in the waves of darkness.

-

"I…I can't believe it." Serenity just said, looking at the floor wordlessly, her eyes glassy and unseeing. Yugi just nodded mutely, and Bakura was left staring at Marik, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"It's true." Marik continued, his voice low and smooth "Apparently, for some reason I don't know about, these people decided to clone me, millions of times. I remember them saying they'd erase my memory. I also remember that at some point, they'd even altered my memory, making me think differently, as though I was a…random clone. And then, I already told you…I remember…dying."

A long silence, one with was only disturbed by the steady footfalls of the Rare Hunters. This situation was quite freaky, actually, with the GOULS hovering around like Grim Reapers waiting for the call of destiny.

"How could you die and then wake up again, 600 years later? You said that the capsule you woke up in –the clone capsule- was nothing like a cryo-sleep booth- more like an artificial uterus !" Serenity remarked, noting the gap in the story.

"I know it doesn't make sense." Marik reassured her, not wanting her to think he was fantasizing "I remember having this life: a family which was destroyed, living in the streets…And then, I came to Kuru Eruna. And it goes from there." He explained "I know I died. They killed me through gas in the ventilation shaft. It goes like this, from what I understand: for some reason, they wanted to clone me millions of times and alter my memory. In order to do that, they had to run tests on me first. Therefore, they completely erased my memory, then changed it into what they wanted me to remember…and when they were satisfied with the result, they killed me, because I was the prototype. They polluted the room I was in with gas, and I suffocated."

'Okay, this is getting weird now" Yugi commented at the morose concept of recalling one's death.

"And then next thing I know is waking up in a completely different world, a different time…changed Kuru Eruna…" Marik continued, shaking his hand in order to accentuate his statement "Bakura?" the tanned man suddenly asked, facing his silver-haired friend "What do you think about this?"

Bakura had his hand over his mouth and was tapping his finger against his lips absently. He stayed like that for a few moments, thinking, and then turned to Marik "I'm not sure…" he started, gaining Marik's complete attention "I mean, you say you died. And you're absolutely sure you _know_ you died." Bakura looked at Marik for verification. At the tanned man's fervent nod, Bakura continued "So, it's highly impossible that they put you to cryo-sleep and you just woke up 600 years later, like Ryou did. Therefore….there is only one possible explanation about this..." Bakura turned to Marik, their eyes meeting in intimate communication, and Marik understood what the other was trying to say.

"…I'm a clone." Marik said, nodding his head as though to accept the very concept "I must be a clone. Normally, I shouldn't have woken up with the memories of the real Marik, but, somehow, I did. I'm a clone with the wrong memories." He turned his eyes to Bakura "Didn't I tell you? The things I remember from my life in the 21st century aren't really _my_ memories. They're the memories of…the real…'Marik'."

"What do you mean 'the real Marik'?" Serenity asked, clearly irritated "You're 'the real Marik'! True, you're the clone of a person who existed 600 years ago and died. You may look like him and have his memories, but…you have your own memories too. Rishid, the Initiation, your life in Yango…These memories are not fake. They're yours. You are as real as the person whose clone you are, Marik, and don't you dare think such nonsense about yourself."

"Exactly" Yugi filled in, watching Marik's mildly dejected eyes "You're real, because you were born with memories, and a conscience. You know who isn't real? You know who's 'just a clone'? All the other clones. The ones who haven't got a real person's memories. The ones who think like robots, like the ones who are after us right now. They're the fake ones, not you. You're a practical miracle…the rebirth of a dead person."

Marik smiled a little, then snorted "Oh sure. You're a dead person, just not really. Is that comforting or what?" he sarcastically said, making Serenity and Yugi both glare at him disapprovingly.

"But there's something here I don't understand." Bakura interrupted "Why the hell would anyone _do_ all this in the first place? Was this whole clone gig simply an experiment gone awry that eventually destroyed Kuru Eruna, or was it something more? Something they had planned?" the albino questioned, his eyes never leaving the familiar crystal amethyst ones. Now he knew that the lilac colour was provoked of mutilation. How ironic. He'd always thought Marik's eyes spelled electrical storm in lightning bold letters. He never thought it would be literally.

"And again" Marik sighed "We come to the primal question. Why? Who?" he shook his head in resignation and raised his hands towards the sky, in complete exasperation "I don't know."

"And what about the so-called 'Sleepers'?" Serenity suddenly inquired, making them all look at her and becoming shy all of a sudden. Is this how Tea felt all the time? Ouch. "I mean...uh…do you think they're still here? Who do you think they are? And the clones…?"

"I don't know, Serena." Marik just shook his head "But I think I know who can give us the answers."

Everyone turned simultaneously to see where Marik's eyes had focused, only to meet the placid, unperturbed form of Seto Kaiba, standing and staring in the distance.

"Kaiba?" Bakura asked, suddenly remembering the strange steely touch that Kaiba's skin had had when they'd fought before. He noted that even though in the beginning of their adventure Kaiba had been the focal point of evil, now it was somehow…changed. Kaiba was just a pawn, after all.

"How would he know?" Yugi asked "He's just another mind-slave, although he doesn't move exactly like them…."

"Is he?" Marik narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping a little in concentration "Or is he something more…?"

"In any case" a familiar deep baritone wrung from Marik's left, and the tanned boy turned just in time to see Bakura rise to his feet "We have to get out of here. Ishrat is probably watching…besides, who knows how many of your clones are on the loose? What if we just had a little taste of the things that walk around in here? What if there are hundreds of them roaming the corridors as we speak?"

"Okay…" Serenity said, grabbing Marik's arm for support and grinning shakily "That was a veeeery bad joke, so please take it back…"

"No seriously" Bakura continued, refusing to himself that he was actually falling under the habit of _conversing_ with mortals except Ryou and Marik "We need answers, I know, but first we need to gain the upper hand. This place is like a labyrinth, Marik, you said it yourself…We'll get lost within seconds. And we can't just sit here and wait for the enemy to come, either. We have to find them before they find us."

"Well," Marik started, while rising to his feet with the others "This place is just too big, and I doubt Noa will be on our side, this time. It won't help us find our way, like it did when I was a kid. Kaiba doesn't seem awake enough to solve our questions- not that he would if he were normal, but anyway…"

"…then what do you suggest we do?" Serenity asked, in a small voice.

"I guess there are three things we could do. One: explore. Two: wait here to die. Three: fight the GOULS, and take their chips off…"

"Well that's obvious, isn't it?" Yugi immediately answered "Fight the GOULS." He eagerly said, his eyes flying to Tea once again.

"Actually, I don't think that this is the best solution." Marik evasively answered, turning to Yugi "Just think about it. We're having problems already, and we're only four. Imagine what would happen if everyone else was here too, and we had more than ten people to look after, besides ourselves. We'd need to explain everything all over again…Nah…I say that we wait until we clear this mess up and then wake them all up."

"But…but they're our friends! Besides, if the Rod fell in the wrong hands, we'll have hordes of enemies after us again." Yugi fervently protested.

"Oh, shove it. You just want the girl back. That's all you care about!" Bakura challenged, irritated, but a sharp look from Marik and a glare from Serenity was enough to calm the spirits.

"No" Marik continued, as though processing his thoughts "I don't think we should worry about them for now. At least we know where they are, and they're safe here…All we have to do is make sure the Rod is kept in the right hands. Then we don't have to worry about them…Oh, and by the way, where _is _that Rod?"

"What?" Yugi asked, bewildered "You mean you don't have it?"

Marik stood on one foot, hip jutting out and hands crossed over his chest "Well, of course I don't. I almost got paranoid last time I touched it. I wouldn't go near it again. Didn't you here everything I told you about the Initiation?" He just asked, as if it made his despising the rod completely excusable. At the alarmed looks Serenity and Yugi were sharing, Marik's eyes widened "Wait." He started "You guys _have _the Rod, _right?_" he questioned, his eyes becoming frantic. Where was the Rod? Did their enemies have it? If so, then why were the Rare Hunters in this state? No….Ishrat couldn't have it…had the Rod fallen on the floor and become lost in the dark corridors? But…but…

"I _think_ it would be prudent not to talk about this in such an open area. Don't you?" Bakura suddenly asked, and Marik turned to him, his eyes wide. Once he met the glint in Bakura's eyes, he knew he didn't need to worry anymore. Hmph. He knew where the Rod was, now.

"You're right." Marik answered, in the same tone as the other "Best not talk about it here." His eyes darted downwards, where Bakura's hand was resting on his hip. Marik openly grinned when he saw the golden glint of a pole somewhere in the ripples of Bakura's clothes.

"I think we'd better get out there and find the Sleepers" Serenity suddenly said, realizing that the Rod issue was cleared. All her friends turned to her "I mean, what we really want is to find Ishrat, and find out how to get out of here…_and_ find out what's going on. So…the logical thing to do is to start exploring this place. The Sleepers seem pretty important.. Maybe the answers lie with them." She concluded.

"That's true…" Marik said "Perhaps if we approach the Sleepers…Ishrat will show up."

"I say we split up." Bakura said, and Yugi immediately turned to him.

"What?" the Game King demanded "Are you crazy? We can hardly make it when we're together, much less alone!" he said, looking at Bakura as though he were a complete lunatic.

Bakura glared, then proceeded to explain his point of view "Just think about it. They don't know who has the Rod- they just _assume_ it's Marik. We split up in two- we disorientate them. They also split up, trying to stop us. Besides, we don't really know where the Sleepers are. All we know is that they're in a corridor that Marik can't remember. Splitting up gives us more chances of finding them."

"But we have no means of communication! How will we know what's happening to each other, or if we find something.?" Serenity questioned urgently.

"What if we arranged a time to meet back here? Say…in thirty minutes?" Bakura asked, looking at his watch and tinkering with it.

"Bakura, you don't understand" Marik started in a patronizing tone "You haven't been in these corridors before." He said, walking away absently and continuing after a brief pause "Once you get in deep enough, there's no way out. We'll get lost in the darkness before we know where we're going."

"We won't if we go straight all the way." Bakura defended, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"What if we get confused and go through a door? We won't be able to see in the darkness, Bakura…" Marik consulted, shaking his head.

"What if we use some of the remaining light-chips?" Serenity asked "I may have two or three left." She hopefully said.

"No, it's no use." Marik shattered her hopes "The corridors all look the same."

"Well, we have to do _something_." Yugi said, clearly annoyed at everyone and everything, especially at the fact that Tea was still out there, walking around like a zombie.

"For the record, I still think we should split up. The exploration will go faster. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes. If someone's missing we'll go after them." Bakura said, aiming his speech at Marik, who was the one who influenced the others on a general principle.

Marik seemed to consider this for a while, pacing around. Finally, when the others thought they couldn't stand the tension any more, he turned back to them. "Okay. I think we should split up, too. We have to learn more about this place as quickly as possible. Two of us go in one corridor, two of us go in another. We meet back here at thirty minutes. Everyone have a watch?"

Serenity was the only one who didn't, but provided that her partner would have one, it would be no problem. They synchronized their watches and stood there, thinking for a few seconds how they would see their watches in the darkness. Then, they finally remembered that the watches were fluorescent, so that would be no problem.

"All right, _genius_" Dark Yugi sneered at Bakura, who sneered back "Since this brilliant idea was yours, why don't you tell us who you had in mind as a partner?"

"Fine." Bakura ostentatiously said "I go with Marik. You and the girl go together." He said, as he grabbed a grinning Marik's elbow and pulled the tanned boy next to him.

"Are you crazy? I'm not letting you leave alone together ever again? Who knows where you'll disappear to this time? Is that why you wanted to split up?" Yugi asked angrily and suspiciously at the same time. Serenity also didn't seem too excited with the idea of having Yugi as her protector.

Bakura huffed in annoyance and was about to answer, when Marik interrupted "Very well, you're right." At this, Bakura snorted in carefully concealed rejection "I won't go with Bakura. And since I'm betting my head that you don't want to go with Bakura either, Yugi, I guess I'll go with you, and we'll have Serenity go with her boyfriend."

"I'm not-" Bakura started protesting, but was cut off by Serenity.

"Um…Marik…I was actually thinking something along the lines of going with you…" she started saying, but Marik grinned at her.

"Don't worry, Serena. Bakura won't hurt you. Will you, Bakura?" Marik turned a teasing look at the albino, which was lost on the others. Bakura huffed indignantly, hating being victim to Marik's teasing of all things. Damned prat! He knew he was Bakura's weakness and took merciless advantage of it now! That's why he said that shit!

"Whatever." Bakura simply muttered, and glared at the girl as she walked next to him.

"Besides" Marik said "I think it's good to have a dark spirit in each group. Both Dark Yugi and Bakura can see in the dark while in their spirit forms, can't they?" the tanned boy asked.

"Are you kidding?" Serena protested "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"Because I knew you'd want Ryou to take over his body again, while Bakura stayed in spirit form, and I don't think having Ryou wake up in the middle of Kuru Eruna all of a sudden would be a good idea." Marik's bluntness about the subject was extraordinary, if one really thought about it. To tell the girl he'd prefer it if Bakura was around…he could always use the excuse that Bakura was a fighter, while Ryou was not. That would certainly be more plausible.

But Serena didn't seem to need further convincing, since she just nodded submissively and let the subject drop.

"Okay. Ready?" Marik asked Yugi, moving towards a dark arch. When Yugi nodded, Marik turned to the albino and the auburn-haired girl. "We take this one. You go on the far left." He instructed, and nodded for Yugi to go forward "We meet in thirty minutes." Bakura curtly nodded and made to walk for the corridor Marik had showed him. When he'd almost walked through the arch, he stopped suddenly, and turned back.

He saw Marik and Yugi walking steadily towards their own corridor. Oh how he hated this…He had hoped that perhaps he could have a private talk with the other, but…and took thing that _Yugi_ would be alone with Marik! It was plain infuriating!

"MARIKU!" he called, and watched the blonde head whip around at once, golden-platinum strands flying in all directions. Marik stared at him questioningly, just as Bakura stood there, contemplating what to say.

"Can I have a word with you for a minute?" he just asked, not really knowing what the heck he was doing.

"_Now?"_ Marik incredulously asked, confused as much as Yugi and Serenity.

Bakura frantically searched for an excuse, trying to steady the uneven beating of his heart. "It's…it's about the Rod." He hissed quietly, hoping no camera heard him say that.

"Can't it wait, Bakura? "Serenity asked from the side, mildly annoyed "The chronometers are already set."

Bakura turned to her, fighting with all his might the unexplainable urge to pluck her tongue out of her mouth, in order to stop her from using it.

"Fine, but make it quick." Marik said curtly as he set out towards Bakura. Serenity and Yugi also approached each other, staring to talk about the GOULS and how the chips that were controlling them could be removed.

Meanwhile, Bakura pulled Marik on the side, and when he made sure the others weren't looking, he turned to the expectant boy. "Why didn't you tell me…" he simply asked, not willing to think about how disgustingly soft his voice had just sounded.

"'Bout what?" Marik said, and Bakura was surprised by the fact that Marik's voice sounded equally husky.

"About…the memories?" the albino said, his fingers barely reaching to touch the hem of Marik's shirt in secret. "About what they did to you…about your father?" he asked, his voice hardening dangerously.

"Well, you know now, don't you..." Marik asked, his eyes lowering to look at Bakura's hand. Soon, he started playing with Bakura's fingers, avoiding the other's eyes. He tried to hide from common view as much as possible. "I didn't really want you to…know about it…" he muttered, still avoiding Bakura's obviously hurt eyes.

"How could they do this to you?" Bakura took both of Marik's shoulders in his hands, but still tried to hide the ongoings from Yugi and Serenity "That's why you're afraid of him, aren't you? Ishrat reminds you of your father." Bakura concluded, solving his questions from earlier that day. Marik was so afraid of Ishrat, because of all the traumas from his father. And, of course, the Initiation ritual.

"Bakura…I'm afraid of every man, not just him…" Marik was saying, quietly wiggling out of Bakura's grip, which Bakura resumed tenfold.

"Are you afraid of me?" Bakura asked, his eyes boring into the lustrous crystal ones in front of him.

"Are you kidding?" Marik simply asked, a small grin on his face. Bakura mirrored the expression, and took a blonde strand in his fingers, twirling it around his digits "I'd never fear you…"

"You know…" Bakura started, smiling fully now "If they weren't watching, I'd kiss you now…"

Unconsciously, Bakura took a step forward, bringing his face closer, but Marik's eyes immediately flew at the deeply preoccupied Serenity and Yugi, and Bakura swallowed, stepping back again, and letting go of Marik's hair.

"Too much light around, huh?" Bakura said, trying not to sound bitterly emotional.

"Yeah…" Marik answered, not even bothering to hide his regret. "Too much light.."

"Listen," Bakura started, lowering his eyes to the sliver of gold, which was barely peeking out from the folds of his trousers "I know you probably hate this thing, but…do you want to keep it? It's much safer with you." Bakura commented, making Marik look at the barely visible Rod and take a step back, his eyes wide with a mixture of despise and fear.

"Just take that thing away from me." Marik said, closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing "They'll be expecting me to be carrying it, anyway. Let's make it less predictable. Besides…who knows what will happen if I touch it again?" he asked shallowly, and Bakura quickly hid the Rod completely.

"True" he said "But maybe we should just destroy it." He urged "It would be the easy way to make sure the mind-slaves got free…"

"Oh, trust me. We will destroy it." Marik reassured, his voice gaining a malicious undertone Bakura had yet to hear "I will _personally _destroy it. The Rod and Kuru Eruna both. There's just something I want to find in this place first…" he didn't want Bakura to know exactly what that 'something' was, since it would worry him unnecessarily "We're going to unravel this plot, Bakura." Marik rigidly stated. "You hear? We're going to unravel it, and once we do, we're going to find a bomb- I don't know where, but we will- and we are going to blast this place to oblivion, that and those god-damn clones!"

Bakura put a hand on Marik's shoulder, steadying the man's ragged breathing. The albino nodded slowly, understanding the full consequences of intense hate, since he felt it claw at him so often. He didn't blame Marik for hating this place. He was starting to hate it as well.

"Hey, you two! Are we going or what!" Serenity complained suddenly, jerking Bakura and Marik away from each other, and forcing them to stop daydreaming.

"Of course, we're coming." Marik said and took a few steps towards her, only for Bakura's hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"What?" he asked, his eyes darting towards the ever-present Yugi and Serenity as a warning.

Bakura tightened his hold on the other's shoulder "Be careful. We don't know what could be in there." The albino said, his red eyes narrowing as he looked at the dark alcoves. Bakura thought he heard the faint echoes of lost screams coming from the corridors, but he knew it had to be just his imagination.

"Hmph." Marik smirked and locked his gaze with Bakura's faintly alerted one. Watching the red eyes become round with emotion was always so strangely endearing. "If they weren't watching…I'd kiss you now." The tanned boy repeated Bakura's words from before, making Bakura's blood-ruby orbs widen, and then narrow with a teasing grin.

"Well, aren't you in the mood?" he asked, just as Marik shot him a last grin and sauntered forwards, towards their waiting friends. Bakura made a motion with his head to Serenity, and she followed him to the entrance of their tunnel.

"Synchronize you watches. It will be 23:45 in five, four, three, two …NOW" Marik shouted, and three little clicking noises were heard as he, Bakura and Yugi pressed the right button on their watches. "We meet here in 00:15. If we're ten minutes late, it's okay, but after fifteen minutes, we'll come looking for you." Marik explained.

"Can we GO now? I can't stay in this room another second!" Serenity complained, pointing to the walking GOULS, with their freaky, marble faces.

"Don't worry. You haven't seen anything yet…" Marik started saying, but was cut of by Yugi. "Let's go!" the Game King shouted, and dove in the darkness of the corridor. Marik watched Bakura and Serenity do the same, and before he saw the silver head disappear completely, he shouted "And Bakura!" he saw Bakura stop, but not turn his head towards him "Don't get lost, will ya?" Marik asked in his teasing tone, and heard the echo of a dark laugh.

"Right back at ya, pretty boy." The gruff voice shouted and then died down, as Marik and Bakura both sunk into the abyss of the darkness. The black maze of Kuru Eruna.

-

"Did you see that? They split up!" Ishrat pointed at the screen. They may not have been able to hear the conversation, but they had eyes and they could see. Noa's cameras were everywhere in Kuru Eruna, a small remnant of this ancient laboratory's grace. "Oh, this is just getting better and better." Ishrat exclaimed, as he turned to 290.

"Nehti and the girl are going towards the Sleepers, while the clone and Atem are walking towards the Clones. This will be too easy." Ishrat continued, grinning at his younger counterpart.

"The girl will be a minor distraction. You know what to do." Ishrat said, and grinned at his apprentice, who stood, now with shredded black clothes and a ruffled appearance, in front of him.

"You know the plan. Now get that Rod back." Ishrat instructed the motionless, robotic 290 "Whatever it takes."

-

How long were these halls? This place looked like a huge, unending labyrinth, only with absolutely no dead-ends. In the darkness, the passageways couldn't be distinguished. Bakura went forward so as not to get lost, holing his hand on the left wall always. He could only suppose Marik had gone straight as well. Bakura hoped to all deities known that Marik hadn't gotten lost. He'd kill himself- metaphorically speaking, since it was impossible- if something had happened to Marik in this disgusting place.

"Um…Bakura?" the girl beside him inquired hesitantly and he fought not to grit his teeth by the mere distraction of her existence on his side. "Bakura?" she called again, louder this time.

"What?" he snapped, nearly losing his temper. God, he hated having to go on a quest with amateurs. I please hold your hand? I can hardly hear where you're going, and…" Bakura rolled his red eyes in the dark and made no effort to suppress his gritting teeth. That was the POINT! He was being stealthy and silent on purpose! They weren't going on safari, for god's sakes! They could ambushed any second now!

But she wouldn't leave him alone, annoying wrench that she was- how could Ryou stand her- so he thrust his hand out without warning or further explanation and grabbed her wrist, dragging her along.

"…Th-thanks…" she bashfully stuttered.

'STOP TALKING!' Bakura wanted to practically scream, but held his tongue for the sake of not going against his own advice. He just stayed unresponsive, towing the woman behind him as he cut through the waves of darkness like a boat.

As he walked deeper, he suddenly saw a light on his right. It was very far, and it was very vague, but it was there. A faint green light.

"Look! Light!" the girl exclaimed "Do you think it's the green light Marik told us about-" but she never got the chance to finish, since t a palm was clamped over her mouth. "Listen here, woman." Bakura hissed, through gritted teeth "I may look like Ryou, but I'm not him. And I do not need a tour guide, I can see for myself. Understand?" He felt Serenity nod and mutter muffled words behind his hand "Good." He said "Now. You WILL NOT speak." He ordered, leaving no room for negotiation. Finally, he removed his hand from her now silent face, and tugged on her elbow again

They were walking down the endless corridor, the speck of light in the darkness becoming impeccably brighter as they progressed. When they reached the alcove of light, finally, their legs stilled, despite their will. Bakura felt the girl beside him gasp and cower behind his shoulders. They were both standing still, like statues, watching with unblinking eyes the unexplainably freaky horror.

Suddenly, he understood why Marik hated this place so much. This sight was hard to stomach for an adult. He couldn't even imagine what it must have been for a ten-year-old. Apart from the occasional whimper from Serenity, nothing was heard in the room, except form the vague sound of murky pipes dripping water on the floor. Bakura tried to get his limbs to move, but he couldn't. He just couldn't move. Not when faced with…that.

Dozens of hundreds of…green…ice tombs. All of them with a person sleeping inside them. All of them surrounded by a strange green mist. Their stony faces, wrinkled and slimy-looking. They all had plastic breathing machines over their noses and mouths, concealing their features, but it was still a disgusting, frightful sight. Hundreds of them, no, thousands of them, were now adorning the endless corridor walls. The spread out everywhere. Right and left, east and west, everywhere. At this rate, he preferred the dark corridors with the echoes of screams, thank you very much

Wherever Bakura and Serenity turned, there was another half-dead face, another green tube, its glass half-frozen, not letting show more that the throat and face of each sleeping person. But it was enough.

Who the hell would be sick enough to do this to so many people? Seeing Ryou in one of those capsules was one thing, Serenity thought, but seeing MILLIONS of people in a beehive formation around them, was another.

Finally able to process what he was seeing in his brain, Bakura started to move towards the closest cryo-capsule. Serenity clung tightly to his back, but he was too engrossed by the surroundings to care. He was right about Marik. The boy was worth every little ounce of affection he ever got. Imagine having to see all this when you were but an innocent child. These disturbing faces, with the imposing features –some hidden, some revealed. On closer inspection, these Sleepers had plugs attached to their arms and throats- probably the rest of their bodies too. Bodies that Bakura –thankfully- couldn't fully see.

To think Marik had warned them about this. What had Marik felt when he first walked in this place, as a child? He hadn't been warned by anyone, had he? The things he must have gone through… Bakura and Serenity's hearts both bled.

"Well, wench" Bakura simply said, trying to sound steady enough to joke around "It seems we hit bullseye." Serenity didn't answer, as she seemed too preoccupied with cowering behind the albino's body. He didn't even care.

Trying to fight the sudden violent urge to run the heck out of there and back to the darkness, Bakura walked up to the first capsule, noticing the touch-pad that was located in front of it. There was a touch-screen, a representation of a body –the body of the sleeping person, obviously- and there were also some wavy lines, probably representations of brainwaves or something.

"Rank: Omega two hundred six. Age:83 years, 124 days, 15 hours, 32 minutes and 12 seconds, Blood type: AB, Physical status: Cryo-Sleep, Gender:Male…" it was all there. All the physical statistics. What struck Bakura was that there was no name. He checked out the other capsules and noticed there was no name anywhere, only strange alphabetical codenames. And something else: all these people were aged over seventy years old. On all the screens, the 'physical status' bar was painted blue, and on the side it wrote "Cryo preservation sequence engaged." At the 'chronological status' bar, Bakura often read '605th year'…Whoa! Did that actually mean that these gradpas had been sleeping for over 600 years? Hey, wait a sec! Isn't that when Ryou had also been put to 'cryo sleep'?

What the hell was going on here? Who were these nameless people? Were they guinea pigs that Kaiba kept for his experiments? What was this sick, sick place? Could it be some sort of perverted secret lab division for KaibaCorp, where Kaiba periodically came to unleash his secret sadistic fantasies?

And what was the whole 'clone' rant about? Two people in this place looked like Marik. One of them, the leader of the GOULS, looked _exactly_ like Marik. And the other, the 'father' of the leader. looked exactly like Marik would probably be in a good few decades. Of course, Marik had told them about the clones, but….it was still such a difficult, twisted, reasonless concept to grasp.

Let's not forget, of course, the increasingly annoying 'Nehti' deal. Who the fuck was Nehti, and what had Bakura to do with him? Most importantly, since they arrived in Kuru Eruna, why had everyone considered it widely acceptable that he be called 'Nehti'? What the hell? He had no name, everybody knew that! If people wanted to call him something, logically, they'd call him 'other Ryou' or 'Bakura' from Ryou's surname. He had no personal name. And even if he did, it certainly wouldn't be Nehti. Pfft. Nehti. What kind of Zulu decadent name was _that?_

Nah. If Bakura had a name, it would be something gothic and cool, like 'Damien' of 'Raphael' or 'Lucifrari'…he certainly wouldn't be called 'Nehti'! Marik hadn't mentioned anything about that, although he had called Bakura 'Nehti' once before…when they were kissing. Well, whatever the reason, the pronunciation of that name somehow made the hair on Bakura's neck stand on end. He didn't like hearing it. Not by a long shot.

Serenity said nothing, only observed the statistics in each touch-pad in front of the capsules. She briefly thought about suggesting to Bakura that they should try 'waking' one of these people up, but then thought better of it. When she finally managed to disentangle herself from behind Bakura and gather her wits, she started walking near every single capsule, observing the panels. It wasn't long before she noted something strange, and assumed Bakura would like to know about it.

"Did you notice that each one of them has a codename that starts with 'Omega'?" she asked Bakura, who was studying a panel on the other side of the corridor, with his hand thoughtfully covering his chin.

"Hmmm…." He thoughtfully said "That's the last letter of the Greek alphabet, right?" he thought, summoning this scrap of information from Ryou's memory banks.

"Exactly" Serenity pointedly said, back to her 'scientist' self, which Bakura hadn't seen since KaibaCorp. Now a little more confident, she turned towards him "What if this is the last rank of whatever these people are? In fact, remember that Marik told us that scientists in Kuru Eruna used to call each other weird names, like 'alpha one' or 'beta three', and so on?"

"Yeah…" Bakura nodded in accordance, scowling at her "And your point is?"

"My point is…" Serenity continued, absently tapping the side of a control panel, checking out more statistics "…what if these people aren't victims at all?" she turned to Bakura. What if they are, in fact…scientists?"

Bakura snorted "Why would scientists put themselves in cryo-sleep?" he asked, gazing absently at a sleeping figure.

"It all fits…" Serenity continued "Just think about it. These people have been sleeping for more than six centuries. The scientists Marik remembers all lived in the 21st century!"

"So?" Bakura debated "That doesn't prove anything. Maybe they were different scientists. I don't trust Kaiba. I think this is just his secret victim stack. Whenever he wants to pull one of his sick experiments off, he wakes up one of these guys, just like with Ryou."

Serenity shivered slightly, but held her chin up "NO." she disputed "Don't forget. Ryou's cryo-capsule was held in a _federal_ institute, not a secret lab on Earth. This is different…besides, you're forgetting something: all these people are old…Why would Kaiba want to use _old_, _dying_ people for his experiments?"

"Well, he used Ryou, didn't he?" Bakura asked, crossing his arms and now fully focusing on the girl.

"Exactly." She argued "But remember: _why_ did he use Ryou? What was the experiment he wanted to test on an old person?"

"As a guinea pig." Bakura simply answered her, looking at her as though she was retarded "to see if the youth formula worked. I don't understand. Where are you getting at?" he asked her, now fully intending to understand what she was saying.

"Don't you see?" she questioned, nearly desperate "He used Ryou, a notoriously psychotic guy who he considered useless, in order to see if the youth formula works. Kaiba has been searching for the youth formula all along, in his secret labs. Why do you think that is?" she inquired, getting more excited at her revelations with each passing minute.

"Are you stupid, woman?" Bakura asked her, annoyed "Kaiba is a slimy fuck! He wants to live forever, that's why he's been trying to find the way to be immortal! _He's _the villain of the story!"

Serenity tapped her finger against her lips, and turned absently to watch the sleeping, lethargic faces of the people around them "I wonder if that is so…" she thoughtfully said, and turned back to Bakura after a few moments "Omega one hundred two, omega one-hundred three…" she distractedly said, making Bakura watch her closely "And then there is Marik, who told us that the clones are needed to control the 'robot'…Where is this robot? Why can't we see it?" she questioned no one in particular, obviously deep in thought.

"I'm telling you" Bakura interrupted her "This is a whole nincompoop. These are just stupid methods Kaiba is using in order to distract us, so we won't be able to see the real impostor. Him!" the albino fervently said.

"Really?" she asked, as though honestly searching for the answer "Do you really think Kaiba would create an entire army of Sleepers, clones and everything else, just to throw _us_ off course?" she asked.

"No" Bakura denied "But he _did_ try to kill us, just because we saw his little operation! Why else would he bring us here, except to trap and murder us…"

"Maybe you're right." Serenity said, walking slowly between the capsules and observing each and every one of them "Maybe Kaiba is the Master Mind. But you're forgetting something."

"What?" Bakura impatiently asked, following her and also observing the cry-capsules.

"The Rod." Serenity said, and swirled around to look at him "The Rod, which can control Kaiba. The Rod, which Marik and the other clones can control. And remember, Bakura!" at this, she raised a finger, and pointed it at him, as though trying to force her mentality inside his head "_The clones will have to control the android._" She smiled at him, as she saw sudden i dawn course through Bakura's eyes "Who is the droid, Bakura?" she asked, her voice starting to implant itself into his mind and grow roots "Who can Marik _control_? Who is the one who owns the biggest pharmaceutical company in the universe and who can conduct experiments in secret labs? Who doesn't behave like the other Rare Hunters, even though the Rod controls him?"

"Kaiba…" Bakura said, not really understanding it, but trying to follow "But why would-"

"Why would Kaiba be launching experiments to discover eternal youth? If he's a robot, he hasn't got that problem, right? Who would want eternal life; the clones? The clones; who think much like robots with their altered memories? They wouldn't know the meaning of immortality if it hit them over the head. All they care about is what they're programmed to care about: guarding the tombs. Remember what Marik said? The 'Secret'. The 'Secret' of Immortality. Whose looking for immortality, do you think?" Serenity questioned, her auburn eyes sparking with triumph.

Bakura could only stare, aghast, as every bit of the puzzle started to fit in. "The Masters…" he said "When we were in KC Base, Kaiba said something about 'his Masters'…and we…we never thought…it would go this deep…" he added as an amazed after thought.

"Who's been looking for immortal life all these centuries?" Serenity continued, now unable to stop the flood of brilliance in her brain "Who left behind the perfect servant –a robot- to do their dirty work? Who's left behind them an entire series of regenerating clones in order to control that robot, guard this 'tomb' and make sure everything went smoothly?"

"…" Bakura already knew the answer, before she said it.

"Who are the 'Masters', Bakura? Who do you think set this whole thing up?" Serenity finally asked, practically gasping for breath. Her exhilaration was evident in the flush of her cheeks, and Bakura looked at her, bedazzled. For once, he truly looked at her, and saw her for what she was. Not all puny mortal, but a very smart, very capable, very courageous person as well.

"You…You really think these scientists" he motioned at the sleeping people around them "Are Kaiba's masters? You think they're sleeping here on their own accord, waiting for Kaiba to come wake them up when he's discovered the eternal youth formula, or something as fucked up as that?"

Serenity turned to him, determination drawn all over her face "I don't think it's only these scientists. Don't you remember what Marik said? Kuru Eruna is MultiCorp's-Meidcorp's secret lab. MediCorp is KaibaCorp's old name, as you know…Therefore, we can only assume that this…place" she looked around her, openly disgusted "is the invention of the sick, perverted, absolutely paranoid minds of the owners of both MultiCorp and MediCorp, who decided they wanted to become immortal, and when they realized they couldn't make it, they just put themselves to sleep, thinking that one day, the formula would finally be found, and that day, their droid would bring it to them and seal their immortality forever!"

Bakura shook his head, closing his eyes "This so hilariously obvious…why the FUCK didn't we think about it before?" he kicked the wall, on the side, while Serenity herself shook her head and looked around, a knowing grin now on her features.

"See?" she pointed at a touch-panel "This woman's codename is Psi four-hundred. Psi is one of the last letters of the Greek alphabet. Don't you get it? As we walk, we pass the ranks of the scientists, until we reach Alpha one: the first of the first. Then, we'll probably get to the ones responsible for this. All we have to do is walk on, and we'll get them!"

"Wait." Bakura said, turning his watch around his wrist and staring at it "what time is it? Okay, we have fifteen minutes left."

"Let's go, then? What are we waiting for?" the girl offered and started walking. Bakura walked after her, staring now and then at the sleeping faces, which seemed to be sneering and mocking him now, their wicked eyes open and glassy in his mind. He refused to think he was acting like a two year old. It was just that the capsules were raised higher than him, that's all.

Bakura doesn't DO afraid. It's just not him.

They finally reached the end of the corridor and turned left, only to come face to face with the impossible. There, in front of them, the maze that had been dark before, was now lit with green cubicles.

"Oh no." Serenity said, as she saw that the corridor in front of them had dozens of doors right and left, each of them leading to a visibly similar corridor than the one they were into, with even more twists and turns.

"Fuck." Bakura gave his very own version of what he was seeing, pretty sure by now that finding Alpha One was a bit more complicated than they had initially assumed.

"Look" he told the girl absently, trying to stay as far away from the slimy, bug-littered walls as possible "Let's just go straight. Later we'll go get the others, and we'll come here together…what do you think?" he asked. A quiet 'hmm' reassured him that she had heard, and was now staring at the walls again.

"Imagine what would happen if we woke them up." She suddenly told him the idea that had previously struck her. The one she'd been too afraid to tell him before.

He snorted derisively "Pfft. They'd die on the spot, old and weak as they are."

"Exactly my point." Serenity said and turned to him, watching his bloody eyes glint fiery red "I think it's high time they followed the good ol' circle of life, don't you?" she finally asked, and saw the flash of red in his eyes.

Oh, now you're talking. Undo the fuckers! Bakura was inwardly starting to appreciate more of this girl's qualities with every passing moment.

"Not a bad idea, if I may say so…" he commented, letting his eyes roam the walls as he walked further in the corridor "Not bad at all…Of course, that would make us villains but…"

Bakura turned right, intending to see where the girl was, but his eyes unintentionally fell to one of the doors leading out of the corridor. A door which revealed another corridor, completely similar to this one. Only,there was something…some_one_ in the end of it. Standing motionlessly under the arches.

"Hey." Bakura suddenly said in alert, making the girl turn to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, but he didn't answer, his eyes never leaving the figure he thought might be one of their clone enemies. He just grabbed his loose watch and unbuckled it, turning only momentarily to give it to her.

"Take this. I just saw something; I have to go check it out. You stay here, and if I'm not back don't come for me. Go back to the rendezvous point, tell Marik what happened, and he'll decide what to do."

"But Bakura, what are – I can't just let you go!" she said a little too loud, and he clamped a hand over her mouth, afraid she'd scare the figure away. "Just wait here. Don't move a muscle. Understand?"

She looked at him with a glare, then rolled her eyes in exasperation, then nodded. Finally, he released her. "Stay here. I'll be back." He simply told her, and ran off in his best sprint towards the person he could see standing in the alcove. Even though he knew he couldn't pressure Ryou's body with too much energy for too long, he ignored the strain of muscles and forced himself to the ultimate speed, his feet not making even the smallest impression of a sound on the floor. He was afraid that the mystery person would disappear, and that he'd lose his chance forever.

He turned around for a millisecond to check what the girl was doing, and he saw her at the alcove he'd left her, staring behind him as he ran in the fashion of a hurricane. He turned back forwards just in time to make out the shape of black clothing, before the person on the archway walked away calmly, disappearing in another corridor. Bakura ran after him as fast as possible, through corridors and around corners, Somehow, the figure was always one corridor away.

At the first turns, Bakura tried to mark the territory in his brain, tried to remember the path. But after a while, he knew that if he stopped seeing the figure, he wouldn't know how to go back to Serenity. Congratulations, idiot. He berated himself furiously 'what if this guy wanted to get you lost all along? He just succeeded!'

He agonized about that possibility for a few moments, while the strain of his running was starting to weigh on his speed. Until finally, as he saw the black figure appear at the end of the green-lit corridor once again…

"Bakura…" was suddenly heard a faraway voice, and the albino was immediately distracted from his thoughts. "Marik?" he questioned, half-surprised, half-dumbfounded. How the hell…what the hell…was that MarikCome to think about it, those shredded clothes…

"Bakura…" the voice was heard again, guiding him with its call, and Bakura followed it. The sudden thought crossed his mind, that it was strange Marik had not been surprised by these cryo-sleeping…half-dead guys surrounding them, but Bakura just thought it was another sign that Marik had regained his memory, which gave no excuse, of course, to the fact that Marik was choosing certain corridors to turn to, avoiding others. Didn't Marik say he didn't know this place? What the heck was going on? Most importantly, why had Marik decided he wanted to play this hide-and-seek game?

Corridor after corridor, Bakura followed the fleeting voice, which slipped like water from between his fingers. One moment he thought he'd caught it, one moment he was lost. Until finally, he lost all semblance of patience, decided he couldn't take it anymore and called "Marik! Stop this! Just come here! What's going on…" started saying, only this time he received an answer.

"Just a little more...c'mon…Bakura…I have something to show you…" the voice called once more, and Bakura cursed the hour he'd fallen for that voice so hard so as to be walking around cryo-sleeping grandparents in order to approach it.

Each hall now had the capsules adorning its walls, and Bakura had even stopped looking at them, after a while. Okay. There were 80-year-olds sleeping around him- had been sleeping there for 600 years- who could wake up any minute and go after him –all he had to do was press a button, and BAM, wakie wakie- and he was following his beautiful, although strangely unaffected by all this, friend.

At the turn of yet another green corridor, finally, the scenery changed. This time, there was someone standing in the far end of the corridor, torn clothes accentuating the tanned figure, bite-mark growing purple on the soft mocha neck, blonde locks falling angelically over a hurtfully, painfully handsome face. For some reason, it broke Bakura's heart just seeing it: the absolute, flawless beauty of it.

Automatically, Bakura started walking faster and faster, until his walk turned to a full-fledged sprint. He was afraid Marik would flee at any moment, so Bakura fought to run faster in order to catch Marik before he could escape.

"Marik." Bakura gasped, panting, as he ran. He noticed, with a happy soar of his heart, that Marik wasn't leaving. He was still there. Still standing and waiting, now wearing that playful sly smile. The sparkle in the lilac eyes was undeniable. What was Marik doing there? Wasn't he and Yugi supposed to be together? What the heck was happening? Maybe the corridors they had gone through met at some point…maybe…In any case, Bakura had so much to tell Marik, he couldn't wait.

""I have to tell you something" Bakura panted urgently, as he finally reached Marik, standing less than four feet away from him.

Marik smiled at him, with his gorgeous lips, his eyes fluttering and staring up from beneath the curvy lashes. "Don't worry…" he said, almost lazily "We have all the time in world…" he drawled, and raised his hand, to slide his thumb over Bakura's lower lip.

Bakura smiled as he grabbed his lover's hand, getting immediately addicted to its touch, but knowing he couldn't indulge himself in this situation. He had to get back to the girl, and he had to tell Marik what they had discovered, no matter what. "No, no…you don't understand…I really have to tell you…Hey, where's his _royal thick-headedness?_" he suddenly asked, puzzled at the Game King's absence. Marik seemed confused for a moment, but a light of understanding soon dawned in his beautiful eyes, making them glow "Oh, you mean _Atem_…Oh right…He, uh…said he'd go back to the main hall. Decided he couldn't tale the sight of all these people sleeping in cryo-capsules here…"

Bakura watched the other suspiciously, lowering Marik's hand from his lips. Atem? Since when did Marik call that spiky-haired fool Atem? Bakura narrowed his eyes, not trusting anything he saw in these corridors. Especially someone who had just popped up out of nowhere, even if that someone was Marik.

"Well, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with Yugi? I have to go back to the woman, we said we'd meet-"

But Marik didn't seem to understand him, since he took Bakura's hand and walked forward, into yet another hall full of sleeping old people. He walked slowly, tugging softly on Bakura's hand, who was staring at him as though he was crazy. He didn't want to anger Marik, but…what the heck was going on?

"Yugi this, Yugi that…all we ever think about is _them…_ I just want you…"Marik suddenly said, bringing his arms to wrap around an absolutely startled Bakura's shoulders. At least Marik had said 'Yugi' hadn't he? That was a small sign of normalness in a crazy situation. Wasn't it?

"Marik" the albino started, confused "What are you talking about? What's gotten into you all of a sudden? We have to go-"

"Shhh…I just wanted to be with you…is that so bad?" he questioned angelically, and caressed Bakura's cheek again, long enough to make Bakura unable to think clearly, then pulled back. Bakura was in a haze. He couldn't understand what the hell was happening…how had Marik gotten there? He wanted to ask, really he did…but when he saw the dazed look in the lilac eyes and the half-open, gasping mouth…he couldn't think of anything except that.

"Marik, I thought you didn't-" Bakura started, but two fingers over his mouth silenced him again. Marik brought his body closer to the albino's, pressing flush against the silver haired man. Bakura swallowed dryly, not yet having come to terms with this situation. In any case, he knew how seductive Marik had always been, but he never thought the other boy would be so…straightforward. At least, he had never been before….Bakura felt warm arms bring his face down, but just as he thought –with a flutter of his heart- that Marik was going to kiss him, the tanned boy brought his lips to the albino's ear.

"I want you…" it simply said, and the butterflies- no, eagles- in Bakura's heart made a maddening flight around his lungs. He almost forgot what he wanted to say.

"Marik, what-"

"I want you.." the other repeated throatily, accentuating his will with a long mocha leg, which came to wrap around Bakura's hips and rub at his waist

Bakura gulped, not really familiar with the concept of being wanted in any way, let alone this one, by this particular person, in this particular situation. "…but, Marik…" he started saying "…Serenity and Yugi…we can't just leave-"

"Shh" the fingers came to stop him once again " Don't you want me?" the rhetorical question came, asked in such an endearing pout- an expression Bakura had never seen on that face before. The albino's heart stilled.

"I-I…"

"…I can't wait…" Marik simply said, pushing his body to drill against Bakura's, hips descending on hips, chests rubbing together, mouth breathing into mouth, hair tickling each other's throats. And that leg, _oh god_, that leg, tightening around Bakura's body, constricting his free will completely.

"…but Marik…here?" Bakura asked, breathlessly, begging to kiss the supple lips but being denied over and over again, as Marik smartly avoided his kiss, teasing him.

"…there's no other place." Marik said, as if this could justify the sudden tornado of lust. But Bakura couldn't shake the feeling off. Something…something was wrong. First of all, why would Marik want to do this _here,_ amongst the faces of the sleeping…frozen? Here, where even the notoriously freaky Bakura felt a bit iffy.

"Marik…no." Bakura restrained the other's groping hands with all the willpower he could muster. But it still wasn't enough. Not enough to restrain his craving for life.

"We...we...can't." Bakura said again, seizing Marik's waist and pulling him away as much as possible "This isn't the time or the place…We have to go get the others…Serenity just discovered what's going on in this place…this was a stupid idea all along, I-"

"Is Serenity all you can think about" the voice came in the form of an irritated growl "I thought you wanted me…" he said in an uncomfortably deep, throaty voice, hitting Bakura's entire neural system and setting it on fire instantly. The pale albino felt warm palms slide under his black shirt and over his chest, coming to scratch softly at his nipples. He let out a long, deep growl and automatically tightened his hold on Marik's waist. Okay, that was cheating. He –a life fetished man- was fighting to reign over his feelings, while he was being teased mercilessly.

He couldn't stop it. The sounds Marik was making –strangely wanton, compared to the last time, but definitely arousing- coupled with the bare skin-on-skin contact, were unbearable.

"We…have to stop.." Bakura drawled through gritted teeth, but made no move to let Marik go, and instead pulled him closer, his palm sliding over the thigh, which was wrapped around him- exposed through the ripped clothing. The world became hazy, when he felt his love's lips touch his throat, littering the impeccable pale skin with kisses and warm breaths.

"Bakura…" the voice was there again, warmer and closer than before, driving him crazy. So crazy, that he actually started thinking about the possibility of doing this. What the heck was he doing? Didn't he realize where he was?

Thoughts attacked him, all kinds of thoughts. Thoughts that suggested Yugi and Serenity could be dying right now in the hands of the Leader, or the Rare Hunters, or Ishrat, but suddenly, he couldn't find it in himself to care, and bitterly realized Yugi had been right. In everything. When he and Marik were together like this…he couldn't even think properly.

But…but…it wasn't…._right_, somehow. He still wanted to say the words he'd been holding. He knew it was important that Marik knew. He couldn't do this. Not _now_ He just…_couldn't._ He felt Marik's fingers touching his golden ring, and was suddenly jarred into reality. Where they were. What they were doing. Where the others might be…

"It's so warm…"Marik's breath came with suffocating heat in his ear "Won't you let me hold it…" he begged in an unnaturally wanton voice, referring always to the ring, but somehow making it sound so…_dirty_, that Bakura was ethically shaken once more, only this time he held true to his decisions.

"No. No, Marik, this is crazy. Let go." Bakura said, this time his tone suggesting no alternative- only decisiveness. This wasn't the way he'd imagined it. It might be childish, but he didn't want the memory of it to be that of a green-glowing room with cold damp walls. No, it wasn't right.

Letting out a small wine of protest, Marik had no choice but to allow himself to be pulled back. Bakura looked away, not really knowing what had gotten into him, and why he wasn't as thrilled as he'd always thought he'd be about this. Somehow…something…was off. Why was Marik so eager, all of a sudden? Marik never was one to put personal satisfaction before the wellbeing of his friends. How was it possible that Marik had just popped out of nowhere, luring Bakura a thousand corridors away from Serenity in order to ask him to do…this? It…it just didn't make sense, with the conventional meaning. This wasn't something Marik would do. It wasn't something Bakura liked to see him do. Not Marik, whose spirit he had admired since the very first day they met…

"Oh! Right." Marik suddenly chimed, distracting Bakura from his thoughts with the sound of his wonderfully deep voice "I almost forgot why I brought you here…" Marik continued coolly, as if nothing had happened. Bakura was transfixed. Had…what they'd almost done been so…random, to the other?

"What…is it?" Bakura asked, honestly curious as to what it could be that had made Marik act so differently.

"Come with me…" Marik urged, and took one of Bakura's hands in both his own. His smile was so radiant, Bakura didn't believe he'd ever actually seen Marik smile so brightly before. Bakura let himself be dragged further in the corridor, reaching nearly the middle of it. Then Marik stopped.

"Well?" Bakura asked, still in awe of that incredible smile, and still thinking how this was very, very out of character for Marik, somehow. But this _was _Marik. He had to be. He had Bakura's bite on his neck. He had burn-out clothes. It really _was _Marik. Of course, Bakura never thought it was better to see Marik as an emotional wreck than see him smile radiantly…but this…this was just…unnatural.

"Well." Marik eagerly filled in "Look around."

Bakura did as he was told, but the only thing he could see was the ordinary alignment of cryo-sleeping people. "What?" he asked, annoyed by the fact that there was something he couldn't see, apparently.

Marik mock-huffed and shook his head, again in mock-irritation. Bakura idly thought he'd never seen the other act so…childish? Happy? Carefree? What?

"I'm disappointed in you, Bakura. Here. Look over there." Marik took hold of Bakura's head and turned it towards the direction of two particular capsules "Look between them" he urged, and Bakura narrowed his eyes.

There! He saw it! He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before! There was a crack on the wall! An imperceptible splinter!

"Wanna see what's in there?" Marik questioned eagerly, tugging on Bakura's hand "Let's go." And he dragged the albino towards the secret passage's direction.

"Wait," Bakura suddenly stopped, taking his hand away from Marik abruptly. The other looked confused, then strangely alarmed.

"What is it?" he asked, only for Bakura to narrow his eyes in suspicion "How do you know all this?"

Marik smirked, taking Bakura's hand and tugging at it again. "Is that it? Thought you wanted to break up with me for a moment there…" Bakura stared at the other. Marik considered them to be a couple? But…but…Bakura certainly wouldn't protest, but he'd always Marik was more of the guy who needed to sit down and talk things over first…

"Well," Marik explained "Don't you remember when the Rod touched me? I got all my memories there."

Bakura eyed him in disbelief "You told me. Don't you remember?" This was growing more suspicious by the second.

"Of course!" the other casually responded- too casually, for Bakura's tastes- "Well, anyway, how else would I know of the passageways?" Marik rhetorically asked, and Bakura had nothing to say…hadn't Marik previously told them that he _didn't_ know the passageways? Or maybe that was a lie, and now he was telling Bakura the truth.? Bakura honestly couldn't figure it out. All he kept reminding himself was that this really was Marik. He had the bite on his throat.

"Well, come on, then…don't you wanna see what I have to show you?" Marik asked eagerly, pulling Bakura towards the wall again "I swear you're going to like it…"

Bakura, thinking it was highly unlikely there would be anything appealing in this place, simply nodded his agreement, for lack of anything better to do. He still wanted to tell Marik what Serenity had figured out, but realized that until he did what Marik obviously wanted him to do, Marik wouldn't let him speak about anything else. Yet another weird thing, especially when Bakura had to tell Marik the most important discovery yet.

Nevertheless, Bakura complied to his friend's requests and followed the other man to the strange pathway in the wall. After all, if Marik thought he would like it…then he probably would. And with that thought, Bakura succumbed to his curiosity, and followed Marik through the splinter of the wall.

-

It had taken a long time of walking in a straight line through the black corridors before they managed to see any kind of light in the horizon. Unfortunately for Marik, he knew that blue light well. He'd had a cave which sparkled with the same purple-blue light under his home.

Now that he'd regained his memories, it seemed so familiar that it made him nauseous. Yugi didn't even suspect what was hidden past the blue alcove, even though he'd heard Marik recite his memories. Not once did the King imagine he'd be seeing what he did.

"What time is it?" Marik asked, preoccupied with holding up a light-chip and staring around.

"We've got twenty minutes left. Don't worry, they'll be okay." Yugi reassured as he walked steadily towards the light. "Well?" he asked "should we take a turn? It looks like the logical thing to do, in either case"

Marik nodded and turned towards the light. This time, the blue light in the end of the corridor illuminated their trek. Once they'd reached the door to the light, Marik turned to Yugi.

"I hope you have a strong stomach." Marik absently said, as he threw the light-chip in the floor to extinguish it "Cause I sure don't."

"Why?" Yugi asked, not really looking forward to the answer. But Marik didn't respond; only stepped in the alcove silently. Not hearing any desperate screams or cries, Yugi felt optimistic, and walked in after him.

"That's why." Marik said, as Yugi stared, gasping at the repulsive sight. He didn't mind that Marik heard him yelp in terror. Any man would've, except maybe Marik himself. A chamber with a dome-like ceiling, as tall as the eye could see. On the walls, on the ceiling, hanging from the construction's pillars. Milliards of them, hundreds of thousands of billions of them, entire legions of blue cocoons, all of them jutting out from the walls like the leper pops from skin.

"Excuse me." Marik said in a fading voice, and rushed out of the room. Yugi could hear his violent retching from where he stood. To tell the truth, he didn't feel he could stomach it either, all those cold faces, all of them the same individual.

Cold bronzed skin turned pale from sterilization, closed blue eyes, ice covering the blonde lashes. An entire army of ten-year-old 'Mariks', all of them asleep, all of them sunken in a slimy fluid- probably that of a mother's uterus. Only their mother was a tube. A very big, imposing tube, standing as a tall pillar in the middle of the circular dome.

There was a touch panel on the pillar, and Yugi approached it, trying to see what it read: Sequence Number: 291, Date of Release: 24 July, 2669, Status: Cryo-Preservation procedure engaged.

"So what did I miss, except the hordes of me lying around…" Marik made a vague attempt at humour, which failed miserably, given the situation.

"Um…"Yugi started, not really knowing, or wanting to say anything "Uh…you were a very cute kid. How come I never saw you in Yango?" Yugi tried, making Marik smile briefly.

"Never went to school." He said. Yugi nodded in understanding, not believing he was making small talk in a room full of clones. "Ahh…" he said, trying to sound even the least bit interested in what he was saying and not what he was seeing "That explains it." He concluded.

Marik nodded, walking towards the central pillar, where Clone capsules were stacked one above the other, with the clone nearest to the floor floating just above Yugi's head.

"So what does it say?" Marik asked Yugi, trying not to sound afraid to approach the pillar with the clones, which he undoubtedly was.

"Well, from what I gather, the guy who will become the new GOUL leader will be born in exactly ten years, 268 days and four hours, counting." Yugi commented, as he touched something in the panel near the capsule, but was denied access to the system.

"You know" Marik started "We _could_ break this place down." He said "Shut down the systems. Kill the Sleepers, kill the Clones…"

Yugi stared at him in disbelief "What are you talking about Marik? We're not murderers!"

"No, we're not." Marik agreed, "but if you saw yourself cloned a billion times over, wouldn't you like to kill somebody too?"

Yugi didn't answer anything to that, not really knowing how to respond in such a case. Personally, he wouldn't even dream of seeing clones of himself everywhere he looked. He could only imagine what it must have been for Marik. Normal guy the one day, one of a billion other similar guys the other. Talk about a screwed up situation. Tea's problem was nothing compared to the psychological pressure of _this._

"Maybe you should, then." Was heard a voice from somewhere, and both Yugi and Marik whirled around simultaneously to stare at the dark door. An evil guffaw was heard echoing around them and they both looked around anxiously, their heads whipping around from left to right.

"Who's there?" Yugi shouted, grabbing from his belt the metallic staff he had used in the fight before. He held it in front of his chest in the position of defense. "Show yourself!"

But the laughter continued, and from the front, Yugi saw Marik shake his head, his blonde locks falling around his head in pretty sparkles. "It's no use…" he said, still shaking his head in submission "Give it up, Ishrat. We know it's you." He called and fought the fear that was gnawing at his insides. He had to face this fear, for the sake of his entire existence. He had to get over his father's image, Isis's screams, his mother's bloody face…

Ishrat was not his father. Ishrat was NOT his Father. He was only another clone, only much older than Marik himself. Marik had to understand that. He had to make his subconscious understand that.

"Maybe you _should_ murder the clones." Ishrat's voice prodded, as Marik saw him materialize in a swirl of dark robes through the dark entrance,

'You're stronger than him.' Marik forced himself to think, when he met the distressingly familiar face. 'You're not five years old any more. You're stronger than him. He can't force you. H can't, he can't he can't you won't let him kill you.' He kept repeating the mantra in his head.

"You should kill them, see what you achieve." Ishrat said while shrugging, and then started advancing forward, towards the tense friends. "You think that if you wipe us all out, you'll stop being one of us? Go ahead then, try. But remember…you'll never be what you want to think you are, You'll never be the prototype." Ishrat reminded him, smirking derisively through the hood of his cloak. "Admit it, Marik. Always and forever, you can be nothing save for second best." The man was now circling Marik, walking around him and taunting him like a demon, while Marik stared at the floor, fists clenched and shoulders shaking violently.

"You're not what you want to be. None of us is, and you're no better than the rest." Ishrat finally finished and turned to watch Marik face to face, finally pulling his hood down, revealing his face, still Marik-handsome, but with many more creases and wrinkles than Marik's was.

"You're no better than the rest of us; you're even worse off, actually. I wanted to relieve you of the torture of your memories. Erasing your memory when it was still time was the smartest thing to do. But the rest was your fault. I'd left you in Yango. Free. Away from here. Do you even understand the magnitude of this gift? You have the ability to be able to leave the Tomb. None of us can do that!" he was now holding Marik by the collar of his torn shirt. "But you ignored my magnanimity and went looking for Kaiba yourself. The rest is your fault. Only yours."

"Magnanimity?" Marik barked out, laughing in a strangled tone "Do you think I forgot how you wanted to kill me? Put me down!" he ordered with all his might, and the other complied immediately, gripping his head in pain at the mental attack.

"Damn you, boy!" the elder roared "Give me the Rod, and I'll let you go. I'll erase all your memories and release you! Is that what you want? You'll have it!"

Marik snorted and moved a hand to restrain Yugi, who was starting to brandish his metallic stick at Ishrat "You think I don't know you! You idiot!" Marik roared, surprised at the courage he could muster against the man who he had feared ever since he came to existence "I _am_ you! You think I don't know how you think? You'll kill us a;; in a heartbeat as long as you get it?"

"Oh really?" Ishrat sneered "Then what are you planning to do with it? Become a cheerleader and use it as a baton? You don't even know how to use it, boy!"

"Oh, trust me" Marik retorted fervently "I know exactly what to do with it. There are many friends of mine on this planet who'd love to use it as a hyper-arm sharpener! Your precious Rod will turn into goo in a matter of minutes when I cast it into the fire!"

"I'd like to see how you're planning to destroy it, since it's waterproof, iceproof and fireproof!" Ishtar barked triumphantly.

"Oh really?" Yugi laughed from the side "Is it idiot-proof, because maybe we could crash it on your head!"

Marik sniggered at that and Ishrat 's furious eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's it! I've had it with your games! It's time I bring down the real guns!"

"I'm anxious to see them, old man!" Marik yelled, trying to hide his true angst by mockery. Truth was, he didn't have very good experiences with Ishrat's 'serious guns'…Maybe there was another Rod? Maybe he'd stab Marik with it again…maybe…

"NOA!" Ishrat suddenly yelled, confusing both Marik and Yugi, who were standing there, staring. Maybe a giant cannon would come out? Maybe Ishrat would wake up all the clones? That would be far worse than any cannon…

"_Yes Master 288?"_ Noa's boyishly sweet voice asked from the megaphone, the electronic voice echoing in the dome.

"Project the central camera view of the Hydro-PS Room" Ishrat said, grinning. Marik didn't at all like the sound of that Hydro Room. "Now, I'll show you true desperation." Ishrat eagerly said, a paranoid glint lighting his eyes.

"Oh yeah? I thought you already showed him that when you carved his back!" Yugi shouted from the side, but Marik kept having a very ominous feeling about this. He checked his watch. 00:10…In five minutes they were supposed to meet the others…the others…Bakura…

A huge projection hit the wide wall over the door where Ishrat was standing. Marik stared at it, and it took him a few moments to fully realize what he was seeing. It was the frontal view of a room. Marik couldn't make out the background, but… the current occupants of the room…There was the albino, Bakura's spiky head easily distinguishable, with it's silver shine. And then there was…

"What's the meaning of this?" Marik practically roared as he watched his own face, same clothes, same hair…smiling at Bakura- leering at him. Bakura seemed shocked, thoroughly, for some reason. He was watching the sugarcoated Marik on the screen with disbelieving hesitation. Marik felt like plucking his eyes out in order not to watch when he saw his screen-self putting arms around _his_ Bakura.

"What the _hell?_" Yugi asked from the side, startled about two things: first, why was Marik on the screen and second, why was Marik on the screen hugging Bakura like _that_?

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't figured it out already, loverboy…" Ishrat drawled on, sneering at Marik, and Yugi's eyes almost burst out of their sockets at the insinuation. Well, he had thought…but never…not like that…

"290's specialty has always been deception." Ishrat said, with what could only be delusional happiness. Marik thought this was all a nightmare, form beginning to end. He wanted to die right there on the spot. That…that disgusting GOUL leader was rubbing up to the one _Marik_ _loved_. He wanted to take Yugi's metallic stick and crush the screen, and then crush Ishrat's head simply for inventing this sick idea. It was a mistake to let Ishrat see them kissing, Marik realized, the deadliest mistake he'd ever done and possible the worst he would ever do, since Marik knew he would die if anything happened to Bakura.

"Give me the Rod and your _boyfriend_ walks out of there unscarred. Hesitate and 290 will destroy him." Ishrat black mailed what Marik had feared.

"Boyfriend?" Yugi asked from the side, still unable to believe what he was hearing. But Marik had absolutely no time for that kind of explanation right now.

"What the hell are you talking about! You know Bakura can't be destroyed!" Marik roared, pointing an accusing finger at his older counterpart.

"You're wrong, _you're_ the one who thinks Bakura can't be destroyed!" Ishrat shouted back "What you call 'Bakura' is nothing but a mental projection of Nehti' s brainwaves, only with removed memory! His ring is nothing but the CPU processor in control of the hologram projection and the adjustment of waves! If the ring is destroyed, so is your sweetheart!" Ishrat guffawed sadistically, enjoying the look of dread on Marik's face.

"YOU LIE!" Marik roared "I've seen Bakura adjust to other bodies. He's not a hologram! I've…I've seen him in Kith's body…and he's been in mine too!"

Ishrat snorted derisively "Of course you idiot! Kith is a mind-slave, and you already have the brainwaves of the Rod. Of course the hologram would adjust to your body with no trouble, since the holograms' waves are also adjusted to ours! Atem could also easily take control of your body! He's got the same hologram procession!" Ishrat roared derisively, absolutely reveling in his newfound power.

"Still…" Marik said, after a shocked few seconds "Still…that creep that looks like me doesn't have the ring! He can't hurt Bakura, because he'll never give his ring away to anyone, not even me!" Marik bluffed, watching the expression on Ishrat's face remain unperturbed. Okay, now Marik was worried. Very worried….

"Are you sure? Are you sure 290 isn't good enough? I'd advise you to keep watching, Marik." Ishrat urged him, with an eager sadistic look on his eyes "Keep watching, as the one you cherish so much betrays your trust, and gives his ring to his doom! A doom with _your_ face!"

"NO! Bakura will never do it!" Marik yelled, turning towards the screen. Noa finally added sound to the picture, and Marik was provided with a fully terrorizing view of the terrible thriller. Ishrat was right about one thing: this was _true_ anguish. From the side, Yugi stayed silent, watching the figures in the screen talk, negotiating the ring. Bakura was asking why 'Marik' wanted it.

And then, 290 answered: "I need the chip, Bakura. I have to place it in the slot and transfer your memories. It won't hurt at all…I promise…" this was accompanied by a hug and more caressing.

"NO! Let him go, I don't _have_ the Rod" Marik desperately cried, but Ishrat only guffawed at him, telling him that lying about it would get him nowhere. Marik thought to mentally order Ishrat to do something, but that still wouldn't stop what was happening! It still wouldn't!

Yugi and Marik watched petrified, waiting for what would happen, while Ishrat kept away watching with a pleased smile, and praising 290 I his mind.

In a matter of moments, when Nehti finally fell, the Rod would be theirs again.

-

"What is this place?" Bakura questioned, while squeezing his body to fit through the trashed wall. This chamber, whatever it was, must have been sealed apart from the rest of Kuru Eruna, if the wall they had to go through was so clumsily wrecked. "Watch your step, Mariku…" he said, as he heard the other man lose his footing and almost tumble to the floor.

"C'mon. This way!" Marik pointed forwards, at the direction a soft fluorescent light was coming from. Bakura staggered a little further, then finally fit through the slit of the wall. He squeezed himself outside and into the mysterious room right after Marik, who was know smiling at him more brightly than ever.

Bakura stepped in the room and looked around, but immediately he started feeling dizzy. He grabbed his head in both hands and groaned, as he stared at the walls, the floor, the dusty machines on the side…

"_Get it off me! Get it off!"_

"_Ryou, I need help! They're after us!"_

"_It's under the rug, quick!"_

"_Nehti…I'm…I'm scared"_

"_They're coming for me now…so,..don't…don't be here when I return."_

"Bakura! Bakura!" Marik's voice was calling from above, and Bakura felt soft hands cradling his head. "Are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah…" the albino answered "Just a little dizzy….I'm…"

"It's okay. Shhh…I understand." Marik said in his comforting tone, and Bakura could feel cool fingers calming his nerves. Strange, how Marik had seemed so unnatural before, but now seemed to be his old self again. Sweet, calm, reserved…beautiful.

And then, finally, Bakura got a chance to look at the room clearly again. It wasn't that big, really. It was of medium width and height, but it was rectangular. Bakura noticed the main thing about this room. Two pillar-like constructions, built in the middle of the room, piercing through floor and ceiling alike.

But they weren't like the cryo-capsules. They didn't have slimy liquid, or ice inside them. There was only water filling them. Bakura easily understood by the way the bodies floated in there. Yes, there were two bodies, one in each of the two pillars. Bodies that seemed to be sleeping, only not in the fashion of the cryo-Sleepers. The bodies were curved naturally in the water, elegant stances of hovering eternity.

They were both men, both of them suspended in the water. There were tubes on the back of their thighs, on their arms, their chest, their heads… but strangely, these black plugs didn't look forced and painful, like the ones with the Sleepers. They looked like they were cradling these people, as though they were a soft embrace- a bed made of wires.

Bakura let go of Marik's hand and walked forward, utterly distracted. Marik let him go, staying behind while Bakura slowly walked around the first pillar of water, examining every angle of the body.

It was a man with short, light brown hair, his skin not without a healthy tan, His eyes were closed, so Bakura couldn't examine them, but he studied the facial characteristics intensely, noticing the angled nose, the sharp jaw, the hands that used to be calloused but where now probably as soft as a baby's, because of all these years in the water.

"He was put to Hydro PreServation in 2102. The Emperor of all United Federations, Atem. MultiCorp really outdid herself with this addition, didn't she?" Marik simply commented, distracting Bakura.

"Emperor?" he asked in confusion, unable to believe his ears "Atem? Isn't that what people here keep calling Yugi?"

"True." Marik reassured him. "The hologram in Yugi's golden necklace is the mental simulation of Atem. You know him today as, 'Yugi', but he really is the consciousness of this man." Marik informed him while pointing at the floating body, and they both resulted to staring at the floating body.

"Hologram? Mental simulation? I don't understand, Mariku. If you knew all this, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Bakura questioned, narrowing his eyes once more "Why didn't you tell me if you knew what I was?" he inquired, a bit bitterly.

"Oh, come on…" Marik started, approaching him slowly and wrapping his arms around him, making Bakura's mind hazy with heat, all of a sudden "You didn't _really_ think I was going to hide this from you, did you? I just wanted to tell you privately…when we would be alone…" Marik said, and Bakura thought it made sense. After all…if this was about him and Marik wanted to trust him…he should be happy, right? And yet, still…something was off. Bakura couldn't pinpoint it, but somehow, something was wrong with Marik…

But then, something else suddenly hit Bakura.

"I can't believe he really is a king…I'm never going to live it down…" Bakura groaned, thinking that even though he didn't know what 'Emperor of the United Federations' meant, it sure sounded god-damn important. Damnit. Yugi would go on about that for days.

But then, if this was really Dark Yugi's body…and what Marik had said…what if 'spirits' like dark Yugi and dark Bakura could be restored to their bodies? And Yugi already had his body cut out for him…A violent hammering started shredding Bakura's heart to pieces, at the mere thought of what he would see in the other pillar. Could this really be it? Had he –the devil- been granted such pardon from the deities? Could it be that since Dark Yugi's body was here…Bakura's would also be…

Unable to stand the tension, and feeling his insides constrict with the usurpation of pulverizing hope, he turned around, to see for himself, to believe.

Flashbacks really did hit him this time, they hit him so fast that he never even got a chance to take a look at the body of the other pillar. Until, finally, when the fragments of a life long passed were cleared from his mind, he raised his eyes and looked at _it_, at what could only be _it_, since it had provoked such a violent reaction.

A body slim and tall, with limbs that looked frail, yet powerful enough to strike death. Fingers long and curved, like claws with their hooked nails. He couldn't see the face. It was covered by a shroud of ebony black -what he could only assume was the man's hair, which wrapped around his head enough times to conceal it. Yet it still waved elegantly in the water, now and then. He noticed the person's skin, unnaturally pale, completely unlike that of the other man –Atem. It was the kind of yellow-white alabaster pallor one can only meet in altered pictures. Not knowing what to say that could express all the things he was feeling, except 'hope', Bakura walked around the pillar, observing the Adonis sculpture and taking in as much as he could.

He swept closer, practically adhering his head to the thick glass, but he managed to see what he wanted. The man's face, buried as it was between long strands of hair, which were twirling in the water, was as carefully manufactured and as aristocratic as the rest of his body. Sharp angles, but not too sharp to be considered heavily masculine, or daintily feminine. Thick, curvy black eyelashes, touching the man's cheekbones like petals would touch Marik's velvety skin. The man's eyelids, his lips, his ears …all with a sense of slim translucence, as though they would vaporize if touched too much.

"And of course" Marik's knowing, somehow strangely ironic voice broke through the heavy air "The first unfortunate to undergo this most brutal of procedures, Nehti Bakura: brought here in 2014, when he was fifteen years old. He was put in Hydro-Hibernation at his nineteen years of age, when the scientists found no other experimental use for him…No one knows why he was brought here on the first place: his file has always been one of the most classified nad well-guarded ones. ..Do you recognize him, Bakura? It's you. It's you, my love. "

Bakura was shaking, unable to stop his nails form digging in his palms. Unable to believe he was seeing this, hearing this- this was happening! Marik had known all along and hadn't told him!

"How…How could you…keep this from me…?" Bakura simply questioned, shaking violently by now, staring up at the soft sleeping face, which was as still as always, unmoving in its coldness. Bakura idly wondered what the eye-colour would be. Somehow, he felt he already knew.

"I told you…" Marik came back again, holding Bakura's hand, trying to calm the albino down "I only did it because I didn't want the others to see…Please, Bakura…I only want you to know the truth, Bakura… I want you to understand things the way they are…"

Bakura thought of this and realized Marik was right. It would have been truly eventful if Marik had caused him to break down like this in front of everyone.

"Bakura…" the tanned man's soft voice whispered in his ear, like the shadow of a dream "Would you like…" Marik continued, he arm coming around Bakura in an intimate hug "…to cheat death?"

Instantly, Bakura had jumped out of the embrace and whipped around hoarsely "What do you mean?" he asked, the wild fires of hope now burning in his lungs.

"I mean…" Marik continued "That since you are a hologram controlled by the Ring, all it would take would be the microchip located in your ring, and then…" he pointed to the control pad which was in front of Nehti's water prison. Truly, there was a small slot underneath the panel. A slot which would fit a chip if need be…

"But…why my Ring? Why do you need it?" Bakura asked, trying to stall the procedure of giving up the core of his soul to something as uncertain as this.

"I need the chip, Bakura. I have to place it in the slot and transfer your memories. It won't hurt at all…I promise…" Marik said, bringing his arms around an utterly confused, uncertain, and desperately hopeful Bakura "Don't you want to be with me…" Marik whispered in his ear "Just us…no one else, no Ryou…no one to stop us…Your own body…" Marik told him, caressing his face and setting small kisses in his neck "…we can make love…" Marik whispered inaudibly in his ear, only for him to hear, making Bakura gasp and his eyes widen. He grasped Marik's waist and crushed the blond man desperately against his body.

"Marik…what if it doesn't work? You said you don't how this place works…what if…what if I…die for real? For good? What if something happens…I- I can't lose you…I just found you, I…" Bakura started saying desperately, clutching at their embrace in absolute despondence.

"You won't lose me…" Marik reassured him, kissing his throat tenderly once again "Just give me the Ring. Before you know it, you'll be here with me. In your own body. You'll have your memories back…isn't this what you want?" Marik asked him, running his hands softly through Bakura's strands.

"I-I…"Bakura stared first at Marik, then at the ring, then back at the one he loved.

"Marik…I…once I give you the ring, I can't be in Ryou's body any more. It'll be unconscious until Ryou comes back to his senses. I won't be here…" Bakura told the other, trying to hide his anguish and excitement, but failing miserably.

"Don't worry about anything. Just give me the Ring, and I'll take care of it. Don't you trust me?" Marik asked in a false pout, grinning at Bakura with his eyes.

"Of course I trust you…I don't know what I'm thinking in saying so, but I do…" Bakura grinned back, hitting a smiling Marik's arm lightly.

"Then don't worry about a thing. " Marik reassured him "Just give me the Ring, and we'll be together soon. We'll be alive together Bakura. Together!" Marik said, his eyes sparkling in hope and excitement. Bakura was shaking as he reached in his black shirt and took out his ring.

With trembling hands, he presented it to an eager looking Marik "Mariku…" the albino started, his voice shaky as well "In case we never make it out of here…I…I wanted to tell you something…" he started, and Marik shook his head in puzzlement.

"What is it?" he asked, looking owlishly at Bakura with his huge, piercing eyes.

"I..I….I wanted to tell you this when we were outside but I…" Bakura stared at Marik, hesitating, but when he thought he might never see Marik again, dead or alive, all inhibitions left him, and he took Marik's head in both hands, landing a swift kiss on the other's lips. Marik was probably too surprised to respond to him, since he was staring at him with wide, strangely unblinking eyes.

"I love you." The albino simply said, feeling everything drain out of him, from pain and hurt to pleasure and excitement. Now all that was left was the silence, and the weight of the words as he said them.

"You…You do?" Marik asked a bit shakily, obviously unprepared for the confession. But Bakura didn't care if it was returned, for once. He didn't care about himself. Only about what he felt, and how intense it was. "Yes, I do. I just, wanted you to know, before we do this."

"Well…" Marik started, still shakily, and Bakura suddenly thought that Marik now looked more like himself than he had all evening.

"Well, I love you too." Marik finally finished, apparently making something up in his mind and deciding something "How could I not Bakura?" the tanned boy asked kindly, running a hand through the other's silver hair, his lilac eyes glinting.

"You're the only one who's ever really seen me in my life." Marik said, and Bakura thought he saw a slim layer of moisture covering his eyes, then leaving again as Marik quickly blinked.

"Now give me your Ring. We'll be together soon." The man finished steadily, his face gathering up to its usual matter-of-fact expression. Bakura nodded, smiling at the one he adored with all his heart. He presented the ring and held it there, in the air between them, while Marik mirrored his smile and reached out.

-

"NOO! BAKURA NOO! HE'S NOT ME! BAKURAA!" the blond boy cried from his place in the clone room, while watching the screen with rivers of tears flooding his eyes. Yugi was also watching, his eyes wide and terrified, unable to believe his eyes. Ishrat, was holding his head, which was on the brink of imploding from the sheer force of Marik's will.

Marik screamed, his scream echoing in Eruna, but not loud enough to reach the one he loved, apparently. He watched with unblinking eyes as Bakura raised the core of his soul in front of the impostor, offering it freely. Marik closed his eyes, unable to see.

The last thing he thought was that, at least, even though with fake words, 290 had told Bakura the words Marik had always wanted to say, right from the beginning of time. At least Bakura would know Marik loved him with all his heart. But then, Marik wondered, would Bakura think, even for a moment before his destruction, that Marik had betrayed him- the one he had so openly exposed his feelings to had betrayed him?

What Bakura would think didn't matter, Marik thought with finality. Because if Bakura really did get destroyed, Marik thought, then Marik would surely clear things up. He'd explain everything to Bakura, very soon. When they both met in Heaven.

Because, regardless of the 'greater good' , if Bakura was killed, then Marik- clone number 288, who had known nothing in his life except pain and rejection- would die with him.

**A/n: Oh shit! Bakura's going to give his ring? Is he going to die? Can Marik live without him? What's happening?**

**Guys, I'm so tired right now that I could sleep into next week. I'm so trashed after writing this. Ooooooh gooooood, I need to sleep.**

**Anyway, how did ya like it? I changed many drafts for this one, not sure where I was going, exactly, until I finally came up with this. I especially tried to show how Bakura behaves in this chapter, first towards Serenity, then towards Marik, last of all towards himself. He finally understands the concept of 'love' in this chapter, as in 'not caring about reciprocation, just loving with all your heart'…**

**Too bad he confessed to a clone.**

**Oh well, we can always take care of that.**

**But I also wanted to show Bakura's attitude towards the clone: first –when the clone is coming onto him- he thinks it's really suspicious. But when faced with sentimentality and comfort, he believes it's really Marik. Also, notice how Bakura immediately lets down his defenses when he sees his own body. He becomes even more succeptible to the impostor's lies. How did Nehti end up in Kuru Eruna? Classified.**

**The plot must surely have become clearer by now. I don't know how I should feel about this chapter. Seriously, I think I've done something wrong…I don't know…Is it just me? Should I alter it or rewrite it? Please tell me if it was worth anything! **

**Lily of the shadow: well, don't worry about finding adjectives in your thesaurus, Lily! Everytime you write 'awesome', it makes me happy enough to jump around frantically yelling 'YAAAAAHOOOOO!' So I guess awesome is okay. I'm so happy you liked the last chappie! I really hope I didn't let you down with this one, it's just that I'm so insecure about this particular one, for some reason, as though I've done something wrong….damn, I hate that feeling! Oh! And I'm so glad you had fun after a crapstatic morning! I try! Jeez, I have nothing else to say, except ….THAKYOU. Honestly, I can't believe you've stuck to this story right from the beginning. I hope you know how optimistic that makes me. Okay…now that we've got that clear, I'll just stop the rant…Until next time! Adieu!**

**Rapturous Voice: THANKYOU SO MUCH! Hoped you liked this update too! I did my best with it! I know I'm really making Marik poor and destperate in this story…but, what can I say, except : angsting I a gals best friend!**

**Mistress-oblivion: Heya! I hope you understand more stuff now, although things are still a bit jumbled up! Yup, Marik really is a poor kid in need of somebody's love…I really hope you liked 18 as you did the previous chappie! I like your reviews so much! Thankyou for everything!**

**Anubia: I'm so glad people understand stuff now, with the last chappie and hopefully this one! I love you for reviewing! Please don't forget me! I'm desperate here!**

**The Uncreative One: I don't think you're so 'Uncreative', judging by the wonderful reviews! I'm so glad there are still people out there willing to read stories with a plot, apart form just a pairing. I really try to make this work, but I'm not that confident about my work, so your words really boost me up! God, writing really is the thing I do the most, so I'm so greatful there are people out there reading my stories and talking and reviewing on them! Believe me…this is just the best feeling ever! Thankyou so much for giving me such a great review!**

**Gelap Gelita: Cool penname! I'm telling you, I would've never figured out what it meant if you hadn't told me. Gives a shade of mystery, huh? I really hope I got things even remotely cleared up for you in this chapter. Chapter eighteen was kind of the obligatory 'explanation' interval, in the next chappie we're back into action, and then there's another interval, then action all over again and….well, you know how it goes from there. I know it's time Yami Marik showed up! Gotta ut the viens and the lecherous grimaces if you wanna have Marik in the fic, right? And the kissing scene…argh! Man, I hate my kissing scenes! Honestly, every time I try to revise one, I feel like I want to drop dead and never stand to walk this earth again! LOVED your review, had so much fun reading it! I'm so glad you read chapter 17 and reviewed it. I was a bit hesitant about it. I really hope you'll get to read this one as well, but seeing as you'll be leaving, I don't see that happening (cries loudly, making tears fly around her face) …Anyway, I wish you a happy vacation, and lotsa holiday fun! See you around, I hope! THANKYOU again for your reviews! I absolutely love reading them!**

**Anime-fan-Meepa: Must I really say anything? You know I adore the constructive criticism in your (absolutely ADORABLE) reviews! I'm sorry you hated the spit part. To tell you the truth, thought it was a little too lemony when I was writing it, but then I thought 'what the heck? Just add it and play dumb!' But if you really think it takes out from everything, I'll have it removed! I'm so glad you liked the part with the murder in the house. I think it was an unexpected touch of thrillery goodness! I know what you mean about murder in the house, and how Marik was hiding…and how 'daddy' turned out to be a psycho killer…Yeah well, I guess this is my writing spree. What can I say? To tell you the truth, I don't only do it because of the reviews. More like, when I'm feeling down, I get distracted by writing a chapter, the wonderful reviews come, and then I'm feeling up again! YUPPIE! I'm glad you can actually understand the POV of the clones, which I think I insinuated at this chapter too, when I showed 290 getting all worked up about Bakura's love confession…I don't know…I'm trying here…Bakura Nehti sounds awfully weird/unearthly/ absurd to me also, that's why I chose it. First I thought: Nahh…they'll think you're just loving yourself in your own fic, but then I thought: what the heck, that's how I want it to be! And thus he became the infamous Nehti-Kura. As you can see, you're the reader to catch on with my plans first. Kaiba proves to be RoBoKai so far, and in the next chappies…who knows? To tell you the truth, from this story, I personally like something small and stupid: Noa. I don't know why, but for some reason, writing Noa makes me shake my head and grin as I type. "Yes Master 288." "True, Master 288" "As you wish…" No idea why I like it though! Strange brain of mine, I tell you! Anywayz, gotta go! I enjoyed the review so much! If you really wanna make a drawing for this sorry, then be my guest, I won't put limitations in your artistic tendencies! Draw whatever you like! I've also drawn about this story, I'll send them to you if you like! Okay. I'm really insecure about chap.18. I especially hope you like it…what am I saying? I'm PRAYING you'll like it. Please tell what you think! Until next time! THANKYOU!**

**Chini-B-channie: I'm so excited you like long chapters! Many people don't appreciate long chapters, unless the story is one-shot! I also worry constantly about typos, and how my exclamation marks may get altered when I move the document to ffnet! Argh! It's so frustrating! I hope I cleared things up for you with this chappy and it's now less confusing! I gave it my best shot, and now I'm waiting for the results! I'm especially happy about you liking this story, since you're a reviewer from Paranoid, which was a much different story than this one…But still, I think I sometimes find slivers of 'Paranoid' escaping in this story…I don't kknow why…maybe the way people act….anywayz! I'm so glad you like this! Thankyou so much for everything! Please, Review 18- which I'm very anxious about- and tell me if it lived up to the rest of the story!**

**Pihorist: Oh dear…someone's gonna kill me….another cliffy here too! I just _know_ you probably want to strangle me by now! But I'm not telling you what well happen! HA! You must stay in angst for an uncertain load of time, until the author of this highly perverted story becomes less bored and inspired enough to write in it! See you in the next chapter! And oh! Don't forget to write to me and tell me more perverted Marik/Bakura thoughts! I always love those!Hehehe…**

**Silly little 13yearold: I hope things are clearing out for you in this funfilled plot, 13 yearold! Personally, as I write, I find them more confusing then ever! Don't worry though! I'm sure you can write fics much better than this! I can tell by the way you write! (I'm especially happy you like the name Nehti with Bakrua! I swear I'm not trying to promote myself or anything, it was part of the plan all along! Maybe I should change my penname or something…but…oh well, whatever!) Thankyou for remembering me! Please tell me what you think of chapter 18! I'm agonizing for your review here! Don't leave a dying person unreviewed! AHHHH!**


	19. Code R8

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS INEXPLICIT DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE, BLOOD AND GORE. THIS IS NOT FOR THE WEAK HEARTED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. There is also a warning for bad language, but nothing that hasn't been used before.**

**Okay, so lessee…In this chappy, we have cussing, violence, some gore and stuff, no adult themes…but! We also have action! Pay attention to Serenity and how active she's become! Watch how Bakura is actually now fraternizing with more than one person at a time! See how Marik goes through multiple fits of jealousy!**

I used to be insecure about this chap like always, but then I reread and thought : ' that's the best I can do. If they don't like it, so be it! ' So take some water or a frozen coke or whatever it is you like to drink/munch on/ play with while you read (then again, you might just not want to do any of those things and you just want to read: congratulations! You are reserved, unlike me!) and start the R and R baba! 

"Now give me your Ring. We'll be together soon." The blond man in front of Bakura finished steadily, his face gathering up to its usual matter-of-fact expression. Bakura nodded, smiling at the one he adored with all his heart. He presented the ring and held it there, in the air between them, while Marik mirrored his smile and reached out.

Bakura's heart was threatening to explode, beating harder and harder until there was nothing else he could focus on. A real body. _His_ body. Marik's mesmerizing lavender eyes spelled it to him clearly: they'd be alive, together. To be able to live and –finally- die together.

How could God have smiled upon one so damned, Bakura wondered. Not once did he doubt Marik's words, or believed Marik was lying to him. No, Bakura believed it whole-heartedly, mainly because he wanted to believe it, but partially because of the flashbacks that came when he'd seen the body.

This really _was_ his body. And if Marik was right and Bakura's brainwaves could be transferred back to his original body…then he'd practically come back to life again.

Marik's tanned fingers were just an inch away from the ring now, an eager look lighting his lilac eyes. Bakura smiled inwardly. Marik must really be looking forward to Bakura's resurrection. Marik was looking at the ring with an inconceivable gleam of mirth sparkling in his eyes, which Bakura was too distracted to detect.

"That's it…You'll see, everything will be okay…" the hypnotizing husky voice reassured once more, and the sound of it reverberated rigidly through Bakura's senses, trapping his logic in a whirlpool of emotion.

Marik didn't stretch his hand to grab the golden item. It was Bakura who was actually pushing it to a smiling Marik's waiting hands, all the time accompanied with Marik's constant praises and reinsurements.

Marik's fingers touched the edge of the ring- Bakura could feel the energy emanate from the other man- and Marik was just about to take it in his hands, when-

BANG!

The silver headed albino could only watch, red eyes completely wide open in surprised shock, as Marik's unconscious body wilted lifelessly and fell to the floor. Bakura was too startled to catch him and simply stared at the tanned man's fallen body for a few moments, until he finally regained his senses and fully registered who he had seen standing behind Marik when the boy had fallen.

"Wheeler?" Bakura asked in complete disbelief as he watched the girl's labored panting. He noticed that in her right hand she was holding the metal pole –probably one she'd found on the floor, somewhere- that she'd used to hit Marik's head with.

When she didn't answer him, he grabbed her shirt and fisted his hands in it, forcing her to look at him "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing? That was Marik!"

Serenity wiggled out of his grasp and shook her head, annoyed. Wasting no time, she threw the metal shaft away and focused on Bakura. "No Bakura. Question is, what the fuck do _you_ think _you're _doing!" she answered in his own words, looking more frustrated than the albino had probably ever seen her. Had Bakura been in his logical state of mind at that point, he'd have noticed that that had been the first and probably last time he'd ever heard Serenity Wheeler curse.

Worriedly, Bakura bent down and cradled Marik's knocked out body, running his hands soothingly through the silky platinum hair and turning back to glare at Serenity "What the hell did you do that for?"

Serenity rolled her eyes at him pointedly, then bent down to crouch near Marik.

"No! Get away from him! I knew it was fishy you understood so much about Kuru Eruna in the first place. You're with _them_ aren't you?" Bakura accused her bitterly, holding Marik's head "And now Marik has to be the first victim of-"

"Hold ON, you idiot!" Serenity snapped, not realizing she'd just cursed a dangerous dark demon she'd been mostly afraid of ever since she'd met. To her credit, Bakura had been humanized enough at this point so as to not even notice.

"That's _not_ Marik!" she simply said, pointing a derisive finger at Marik's form, which was spread over Bakura's lap.

Bakura glared at her " You think that's a plausible excuse, woman? Well try harder, before I strangle you with my bare hands!" he barked at her, so she lost no haste in proving her point. She quickly dropped to where Marik was lying and hastily reached to Marik's fisted left hand.

"Would Marik ever stab you?" she asked the rhetorical question, providing Bakura with a full view of the small knife she'd revealed was clenched in Marik's hand. Bakura stared at it in what could have been considered awe, then turned to Serenity in a heartbeat.

"Are you crazy? That doesn't prove anything! Marik could be holding a knife for any reason! Have you forgotten where we are?" Bakura barked at her, all the time glaring at her fiercely enough to make her head hurt.

"Seems _you've_ forgotten where we are, Bakura! Don't you remember there are people in this place who look exactly like Marik?" she asked him, silencing him for a brief moment, before he fervently retorted.

"He _is_ Marik! Look at the bite on his neck! It must be him!" He turned Marik's unconscious body in his arms to provide her with a full view of the man's bruised neck.

"Oh yeah?" Serenity inquired, totally losing her temper now "Well how about this?" she yelled and took out a white handkerchief from one of her pockets. As quickly as she could, and moving very pointedly for Bakura to see, she put the cloth over Marik's neck and wiped at it.

And there, before Bakura's fury-dilated, suddenly fully alarmed eyes, the love-mark gave way to the cloth's cleansing attributes, and 'Marik's' neck had suddenly become wonderfully clean, sans bruises and marks of any kind.

"I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book! And to think it was you of all people! You dark fiend wannabe! " Serenity scolded him, producing her hanky and showing Bakura the purple-pink paint that was splayed on its white surface. That had been the bite on Marik's neck. Paint.

A very intense sense of dread suddenly attacked the albino's senses.

Bakura was unspeaking, staring first at the body that now seemed alien in his arms and then to the treacherous purple paint on Serenity's hanky. And to think he'd…oh, god, he'd…oh no! What had he been thinking? Or more to the point, with _what_ had he been thinking?

The man in his arms…he looked exactly like Marik. _Exactly_. Down to the last soft-surfaced, clear-cut nail, he was _Marik! _Therefore, it could only be one man…it could only be…the Leader of the GOULS! Bakura now let the body in his lap slip to the floor, uncaring what happened to the slimy impostor. He was actually planning multiple painful ways of execution by now.

"I…I…How did you…? " Bakura started trying to explain and ask for explanations at the same time, so Serenity turned away and wiped none-existent dirt form her hands while she told him her point of view in the story.

"Did you really think I'd just sit there and wait for you like an idiot?" Serenity asked him, and Bakura thought he should have seen that coming. "I followed you a little after you took off! I got lost in the corridors a few times, but when I heard voices I finally knew which way to go!" she explained at his startled face.

Bakura was suddenly struck down by a sense of imposing dread. How much…had she seen? She was smart enough to understand…if she'd seen…

"I never knew this place existed " she waved her hands around the room to accentuate her point "until I saw you guys walk in here from the corridor. To tell you the truth, I arrived just in time to see you get in here."

Phew. Bakura supposed that was a good thing, since she probably hadn't seen his little…encounter with…with the god-damn Clone!

"How…how much did you see or hear in here?" Bakura asked, carefully evasive but trying not to show his reluctance. She dragged her eyes to his face slowly.

"Why? What are you afraid I saw?" Serenity asked, in a tone that suggested pure sadism. Bakura had to give her credit for that, at least. He didn't know she had it in her.

"I'm not afraid, mortal. Just curious." Bakura hautily rebutted, his nose stuck snobbishly high in the air, his red eyes not without a proud, scornful tinge.

"Well, in that case, I think it's safe to say…" Serenity said, now clearly avoiding his eyes "I saw enough."

Bakura didn't want to show his uncomfortable disappointment, but he couldn't help it if a sliver of it showed in his eyes.

"Oh." He simply said, fully aware that he'd probably put on a good show with what would probably be his once-in-a-life-time confession to Marik, who wasn't even there to hear it! Instead, a mortal woman had been there to witness Bakura's utter humiliation. Serenity- the very person Marik had been so anxious to hide this from!

Heavy silence fell between them for a few minutes, neither of them daring to say anything and intensify this suffocating discomfort they were in.

"Um.." Serenity finally started, mock-disinterestedly, staring at everything around the room but Bakura. "So…uh…that's your real body, huh?" she asked, pointedly looking at the crow-haired man floating behind Bakura's back. The albino turned and stared longingly at the pale skin and wiry body.

"Yeah…that's…me" he simply said, still unable to fully register and accept it. Serenity nodded and approached. When she was close enough to Bakura, her eyes subtly slipped from him to the floating body and back.

"Well, for the record…" she started, a gentle pink hue growing on her cheeks "You were very…um…good-looking…" and she turned away from the man on display.

Bakura felt something warm wrap around his guts, and it helped distract him from the discomfort of Serenity's knowing about his relationship with Marik. He just looked at the body, sighed wordlessly, and nodded in accordance. In the end, he thought bitterly, he still hadn't gotten what he wanted. He still couldn't be alive…with Marik.

Then again, what had Bakura been thinking with that stupid confession of his? Maybe it was better this way…better if Marik never knew about Bakura's feelings at all... Marik himself was so much more inhibited with his emotions than the clone had been, so he probably wouldn't have accepted a love confession the way the clone had... Bakura was sure Marik would never…Marik was so hard to get to… But when one got to him, it was well worth the effort, Bakura thought with another sigh.

"You know…" the girl suddenly said, looking everywhere except in his eyes "we still have some time…if you want to try…I mean, how difficult could it be?" Serenity ranted, not really making sense. But Bakura understood what she was offering. She was willing to try to revive him.

The albino started thinking about it. Would it be okay? Could he trust her? God, he'd almost trusted the Leader –at this thought, Bakura kicked the leader's unconscious form- he could surely trust the woman who hadn't even complained about his relations to Marik…

Surely he could…

"Oh no!" a thought suddenly hit him, and he whirled to the girl urgently "What time is it?" he asked, realizing all of a sudden that if the person on the floor was Marik's imitation, then he didn't know where the _real_ Marik was!

Serenity caught on immediately, looking at her watch "Oh no!" she gasped "It's well past the meeting time! Do you think they're okay? Maybe they've come looking for us!"

The mere suggestion that Marik could be somewhere Bakura didn't know of, and probably unsafe, without the Rod, was enough to drive the albino overload.

"Come on! We're leaving! Splitting up in two was a stupid idea after all…we have to hurry-" Bakura urged and took one of the girl's wrists in his palm, dragging her along. But she rooted her heels to the floor, refusing to walk further.

"No Bakura!" she started "Don't you see? We have to do this now, or else we may never find this chamber again! You'll never get the chance to live again! We have to-" Serenity was saying, but Bakura silenced her by grabbing her by the elbow and hauling her to the imperceptible crack on the wall. That moment was probably the hardest of his entire life. The spiritual power it demanded to deny his primal need was draining him completely. Only one thought kept him rigid in his decision.

"We have to get to the others! What if Marik's in trouble?" he asked hoarsely, trying to swallow down the lump that had grown in his throat, all of a sudden. He pushed the protesting girl through the wall and stepped in himself, only to look back one last time at the body of the black-haired man, still floating in the water, long hair waving like black velvet, daring to ensnare him.

Knowing that if he kept staring he'd never want to leave, he turned around and with a curse at all his bad luck, squeezed out of the room, leaving it to its ever-present occupants and the unconscious Leader.

Whatever happened, Bakura knew, the bodies in the water would still be there, like illuminated statues in the dark. Just like they had been for centuries.

Sleeping in the silence.

-

Marik couldn't believe his eyes. First his entire world was chaos, then it was heaven. Serenity appeared, metallic pole in hand. Before Marik had fully registered what was going on, the clone 290 was flat on the floor, Bakura staring at Serenity as though she was crazy.

'If only he knew…' Marik kept thinking, now slightly placated but still anxious as he stared at the screen above them.

"I can't believe it!" the hooded clone 288- Ishrat- roared from nearby. Marik inwardly grinned "The idiot! Must I do everything by myself!" he barked and reached in his cloak for what could only be a weapon.

Marik, utterly delighted by this outcome, could not stay quite so happy for much longer. The rage began to awaken inside him once more. Now that he'd made sure Bakura was safe, it was time to put some people in their proper place.

"YOU!" Marik yelled, sending a blinding wave of brain-power at Ishrat, making the man bend painfully to the floor, dropping the phazer-gun he'd drawn out from his cloak. Unfortunately, though, Yugi was also in the vicinity, and that could only mean that he was also crushed by Marik's mental hit. Seeing his friend's torture, Marik drew back, deciding instantly that perhaps it would be better this way, if he got to pound Ishrat and destroy him with his own two hands and not with his brain!

"I' ll make you pay…For all you've done!" Marik yelled, drawing back mentally and reaching out to Yugi's hunched form in order to grab Yugi's steel weapon.

"Hurting me is one thing, but threatening my friends is another! I won't forgive you!" Marik roared, brandishing the weapon at a rapidly recovering Ishrat.

"FINE!" Ishrat yelled, taking a defensive stance upon seeing Marik's offense "Show me what you' ve got, then, junior!" he finished, running towards Marik at the same time the boy collided with him. Yugi finally came back to his senses, only to see Marik and Ishrat engaged in a heated fist-fight. Quickly deciding a course of action, Yugi didn't think about his strategy that much, for once, since he blindly attacked as well, with his bare hands.

Marik thrust a knee upwards, but Ishrat maneuvered round it, landing a solid hit on the other's collarbone. Just then, Yugi sent his heel to Ishrat's back, pushing the man forwards and making him stagger. Marik got his chance to jam his foot around Ishrat's and tried to send the side of his palm to the other's neck, in what was a flawless death-hit.

But Ishrat wasn't as weak as he seemed, since he managed to predict the move and duck in time to miss the hit, instead shaking Marik off and landing a punch at the other's stomach.

"Aargh!" Marik shouted, as he was forced to the floor, where he found his discarded metal tool. He grabbed it without delay and stood back on his feet. Yugi fell to the floor with a bloody jaw, and Marik resolved to help him immediately after he got rid of Ishrat, once and for all.

"Now I'll show you!" Marik roared, letting the steel rod roll around his fingers in practiced ease. But Ishrat unexpectedly whirled around- long cloak blocking Marik's vision temporarily. When he turned back to Marik, he had the phazer gun in his hands.

Marik tried to back off, but he was too late.

"ARGH!" Marik yelled in pain as he felt the tissues on his shoulder rip and vaporize. Ishrat had managed to cause him pain once more. "FUCK!" he shouted, and tried to recover his scorched shoulder, the pain of which was reaching unbelievable levels. "FUCK!"

He felt the heel of a foot hit his chest and force him to lie on the floor. Ishrat's foot started squeezing his throat, choking him. "Idiot!" the elder man sneered "Give me my Rod!" he demanded, and Marik really was grateful he'd given the god-damn contraption to Bakura. It would have been unsafe with him all along.

"Give it to me or I'll kill you" Ishrat simply said, now bringing the laser above Marik's head.

"Why don't you kill me and take it? Are you really _that stupid_?" Marik challenged, struggling to breathe through his hazy pain.

Ishrat looked indecisive for a second, a million emotions passing through his face "I would….if you'd let me!" Ishrat barked, now letting the phazer drop in order to hold his head, which Marik was trying to dominate past the point of no return!

"AARGH!" both Yugi and Ishrat roared, as Marik stood up slowly, trying to recover his wound. He picked up Ishrat's phazer and slowly aimed it at the man himself, just as he finally allowed his mind-control to subside.

"Now, old man" Marik started, with a hazy grin breaking through his dark face "there's no mercy." And he started to pull the trigger, feeling redemption finally knock his door. To avenge his sister by killing her murderer- if only just her murderer's face- and simultaneously killing Ishrat, the man who'd made Marik's life hell….what Marik had _always_ wanted…

To haunt the ghosts of his dark. To prove he was stronger. To face his fear.

Marik had sinned in his life: he'd killed before, ended life. Most of the lives he'd taken were possibly innocent, and he'd burn in hell for their extinction. But this life –Ishrat's life- was one of those few…those few lives that was not meant to end tragically and emotionally. Ishrat's existence was raw and hurtful, and it deserved to be ended that way.

For Marik. For Bakura. For all those victims of Kuru Eruna. Another sacrifice would rise- tonight, once again, the fires of death would light the Village of the Dead. Revenge. Revenge and atonement. Final satisfaction. After all these centuries of torment, Marik believed he deserved it.

"Marik wait! NO!" Yugi shouted desperately, once he saw what Marik was about to do and where Ishrat was standing "Marik, NO! You'll hit the-"

But the sound of the laser being released verified Marik was too lost in the lust for revenge to listen. The laser beam passed thinly through Ishrat's torso, exactly at the spot of his heart, stilling it forever.

"Goodbye, Father." Marik said, hovering over Ishrat's fallen body, which had crystal lilac eyes becoming glassy and still, while incoherent crashing sounds echoed from around. But Marik didn't hear. All he could focus on was that this hateful part of his life was over. Part of the reason why he'd been practically resurrected in Eruna was over. He'd taken revenge.

But…still.

Somehow.

It wasn't enough.

The hate and the pain wouldn't go away. Not even after Ishrat's death.

Marik felt like screaming.

"NOOO!" Yugi yelled, at the top of his lungs, as he saw the inevitable chain reaction. The laser beam, powerful and irreversible as it was, went right through Ishrat, as expected, and hit the central pillar of the clone room full-force. Marik had been basking in the glory of his long-postponed revenge, so he was too distracted to notice at the time. But Yugi had seen…he'd seen…

"_Warning. System overload. Warning. System overload. Code R8. Warning. Code R8. Engaging emergency sequence._" The computerized voice chimed in its monotonous voice, just as the control panel in the central pillar was thrashed in a thousand pieces, hit by Marik's laser beam.

"Oh shit,…." Yugi whispered, his eyes wide and unblinking, staring anxiously at the pillar, just as his worst fears were starting to become verified. The clone cocoons turned fiery orange from lethargic blue.

"_Emergency shut down. Emergency shut down. Initailizing…"_ the computer kept saying, and both Yugi and Marik turned to see the door behind them snap open.

What the? Wasn't the place shutting down? Why were the doors opening instead? What was going on? Marik, now significantly alarmed, took a step back simultaneously with Yugi. Both were staring, equally terrified, at the reddened clone capsules. The tubes that ran through the room started lowering the highest capsules to the floor. And there, one by one…they started to…to…

Hatch.

"Fuck." Marik said, taking as many steps back as he could, making sure to holster the phazer gun in his belt. He'd be probably needing it.

"Well, fearless leader…I must say…Not even that sorry excuse of an underhanded robber could've managed to screw up this bad!" Yugi scowled at the tanned boy, picking the metal stick up from the floor and watching, aghast, as one set of hazy blue eyes started to awaken after the other.

"_Emergency shut down. Code R8. Security alert. Security alert. Number 291 activated. Number 292 activated. Number 293 activated. Number…"_ the computer voice when on and on, never stopping the numbers. One by one, the capsules were lowered to the floor. One by one Marik saw himself wake up, sticky and slimy, from the depths of the prison.

But these clones weren't frightened or terrorized as he had been when he had awoken. They were rigid. Sure of themselves. They knew exactly what they were doing, where they were going. They were marching. Against the invaders. Against Marik, and Yugi…Against all of them.

Their number was growing with every passing second, turning from dozens to hundreds within minutes, and they kept awakening still.

"_Number 432 activated. Number 433…"_ the computer was saying, just as Marik and Yugi were stepping backwards, fully aware of what they had gotten themselves into.

"Oh shit…"

"This is not good…"

"Definitely not good…" the friends were telling each other in whispered tones, as thousands of similar sets of eyes glared at them ferally, like wolves surrounding prey. Marik belatedly realized that these clones hadn't received the initiation yet, which meant that their brainwaves were not synchronized with his. They could not be controlled by the Rod. Consequently, Marik couldn't mess with their brains.

Well shit.

"I won't…I can't hurt kids…" ethical Yugi said, watching more and more add up to the grand total of predators; eyes glaring and flaring at the sight of Ishrat's motionless corpse, which morphed a rigid mass on the ground.

"These aren't kids." Marik responded, his voice shaky at seeing himself copied so many times over, staring at him with that look and recognizing it instantly "They're murderers!"

"Oh, come on! They're so small! How could they harm us?" Yugi hissed, although not even for a moment did he stop backing out of the room.

"Yugi…do you know which animal can effortlessly kill a cockroach? And remember: cockroaches are the most resistant out of all insects." Marik asked, a mock-light tone in his voice as he backed away "the answer is ants. Because cockroaches are huge compared to them, and when ants climb on them and eat them from the can't wave them off."

Yugi stayed silent for a few seconds. "Point taken." He simply said, and didn't think he'd doubt the glares he was receiving ever again. After all, Marik knew what his younger self was capable of, and Yugi didn't want to be the cockroach of this story.

"I say we make a dash for it." Marik whispered as he saw the clones looking at each other and nodding mysteriously, as though deciding on general consensus.

"They know the halls better than we do." Yugi filled in, and the spark of hope started dying in Marik's heart. "Then we better hurry!" the tanned man yelled suddenly, and grabbed his friend's elbow, sprinting as fast as his wound would allow him towards the main hall. Oh this was paranoid! This was completely, utterly paranoid! All from his own god-damned stupidity! If only he hadn't shot Ishrat and had been a little more patient with his bloodlust!

"_Emergency shut down_." The computer was repeating over and over, and Marik thought it was logical that the system had broken down so easily, being as it was very old-fashioned. As they ran down the hall, a stampede of footsteps was heard echoing behind them. As a stroke of luck, though, now that there was supposedly an emergency in Kuru Eruna, red flashing lights were shining in all the corridors, helping Marik and Yugi find their way. After all, let's not forget that the thousands of clones persuing them outnumbered them ten thousand to one, were better acquainted with Kuru Eruna _and_ were perfect scouts.

Back to the main hall they ran, and back to the walking zombies. Kaiba was still standing there, as still as a statue when Marik and Yugi practically jumped in the room, where the symbols on the walls now glowed red.

"Oh shit! Now where do we go?" Yugi asked, panting, as his eyes flew from one lit corridor to the other.

"We have to find the others!" Marik said, frantically thinking that he had to find out if Bakura was all right. And Serena. I've got to find Bakura, he thought. He'll know what to do! Marik didn't even realize his way of thinking now resembled that of a five year-old seeking his father, believing that grownups- or in this case Bakura- knew everything and could magically solve any problem.

"This way!" he shouted at Yugi and started running towards the corridor Bakura and Serenity had entered before. Meanwhile, the sounds of the running clones were intensified tenfold in their ears.

But as they ran towards the corridor, Marik realized it was…blocked. A black, rusty metal door was drawn over it, not allowing anyone to go through! So that's what the computer had meant when it said 'Emergency lock down'! But why only this corridor and not the others? What was in this corridor that was so important that it had to be kept safe at all costs?

"There they are!" a juvenile voice was suddenly heard, and Yugi and Marik turned to see a clone pointing at them, and hordes of others running towards them from across the grand room. Luck seemed to be on their side, Marik thought, since the roving bodies of the zombie GOULS prevented the clones from approaching in great quantities. Some of them were even warded off by the Rare Hunters because of approaching them!

"What do we do? Can we climb on a vent?" Yugi shouted as he covered Marik from the small but deadly hands of the few clones that had approached them "Do the corridors connect in some way? Could we get to them through a different door?" Yugi continued, while a near-frantic Marik kept pounding on the door.

"Where is the Rod?" one of the clones asked with a yell.

"Invaders!" another filled in "You're not the ones who should give us the Initiation!"

Marik was honestly confused at why some ten-year-old kid would be agonizing over going through _that_, but he thought it better not to question the nature of the clones.

"I know!" an idea hit him suddenly, and immediately he whipped out the trusty laser gun he had used to rid the world of Ishrat once and for all. Wasting no time, he aimed it at the door.

"Well hurry, coz I was never good at babysitting!" Yugi yelled, but his voice was strangled through a thousand yelps and shouts. The clones were growing more violent and murderous with every passing minute. They used only their bare hands, but they used them so viciously that most of them had bloodied their nails already. Even those who couldn't reach Yugi and Marik would claw at one another, as though they were vultures lusting for fresh blood. A clone got to Marik, just as he was trying to melt a hole through the door. He had to kick and restrain the small offender, while the psychotic child clawed at him and tried to bite him.

"You little shit!" Marik finally yelled, unable to take it anymore, and landed a fist at the young boy's stomach. It still felt bad to hit a kid, but not so much when said kid had managed to scratch your already wounded hand and bite at it brutally enough to destroy the flesh.

"It's done!" Marik shouted over the screams and yells. He lunged in through the hole he had created with his laser, and beckoned for Yugi to follow him. The spiky-haired boy stepped carefully backwards and tried to make his way through the door, endeavoring simultaneously not to hurt himself with the still-burning edges of the mutilated door, but not to let the clones hurt him either.

"Come ON!" Marik yelled, and grabbed Yugi's arm, pulling the boy inside with one sudden tug at his arm. Yugi yelped, but recovered soon enough. The two friends started running as fast as their legs could carry them through the red-lit corridor, Marik straining his hurt shoulder. Meanwhile, through the laser-made hole on the door, one by one, the clones started fitting through, like ants spreading out from an anthill.

Yugi and Marik encountered another door, and this time Marik lost no time in whipping out the laser and making a path. They walked through it, always conscious of the clones' footsteps becoming louder behind them.

Until they opened a third hole through a door, and walked straight inside a green-lit corridor, adorned by thousands of capsules, each one hosting a different Sleeper. Yugi stared at them, aghast and unbelieving. Marik, who had already seen them once, didn't want to observe them again. Insistently, he tugged on a flabbergasted Yugi's arm and forced the other to run forward. And so, they both ran.

Faster and faster, between the unperturbed sleeping bodies. Once more, Marik felt they were sneering at him. Once more, he thought they would wake up and haunt him. The bite on his forearm, which he had received from a clone, was starting to sting. A lot! God-damn zombie-clone-kids these days. And speaking of kids, they were still after the two of them, gaining on them.

Marik, hurt as he was, was forced by Yugi to go faster, through more corridors, always in a straight line in an effort not to get lost.

Marik wondered if he'd ever find Bakura. Would this nightmare ever end? Or was it already too late?

In the halls of Eruna, desperation was always a familiar way out.

-

"What's happening?" Serena gasped in a frightened voice, as she heard and saw the doors around them slam shut. She hadn't even realized that doors still existed in this place. Apparently, she was wrong. Even though they were probably as old as time itself, the doors were still sturdy.

"…I don't know." Bakura said, glaring at the surroundings. They'd just come out of the room where Bakura's body was, only to see green lights, Sleepers…everything they'd expected to see, save for the alarms of the computerized voice in the megaphones and the heavy doors that had fallen over the passageways. Had they been discovered? Was this another one of Ishrat's games?

Most importantly, where the hell were Yugi and Marik?

"_Emergency shut down. Emergency shut down. _" the computer was saying, and Bakura glared at the horizon. "What the hell is the big emergency?" he spat, turning around feverishly.

"Marik may be in trouble! We have to get out of here!" Serenity concluded, looking around for any means of escape.

"No shit!" Bakura sneered at her, and she glared.

"Hey, at least I'm trying! Got any better ideas, genius?" Serenity shouted in an annoyed tone. God, this man! How could Marik _stand_ him?

Bakura ignored the question, his eyes darting around the corridor for signs of an escape route,.,Ahaaa…he thought, as he spotted what he'd been looking for. The ventilation shaft which brought air to this murky place.

"I might…" he grinned mysteriously, and Serenity turned around to see what he was looking at. Her eyes showed approval, but she still wasn't convinced.

"How do we know it's safe?" she inquired, her eyes narrowed.

"We don't" he answered bluntly, approaching the closest green capsule and attempting to climb on it. Serenity rolled her eyes. "Fine." She answered "How do we know where it leads?" she questioned.

"We…don't!" Bakura answered with a little strain, as he managed to hang from the top of the capsule, adhering the side of his face to the cold glass. He had come face to face with one of the sleeping near-corpses. It was not a pretty sight from a normal point of view, much less from up close.

"Okaaay…" Serenity pointedly said, as though this proved Bakura was a foolhardy idiot "And how do we know which way to go inside the vents in order to reach the main hall?" she asked.

At this, Bakura grinned from his hanging position. Now he was hanging from the ceiling, trying to reach the vent by using the ceiling as monkey-bars. "Because we have this!" he said, and reached briefly in his pocket. He took out something like a paper and threw it at Serenity's feet. Then he resumed his climbing.

"What's this? I didn't know you read." Serenity idly commented, as she bent to take hold of the fallen pamphlet-like paper.

"You're right. I don't." Bakura answered, finally reaching the edge of the vent and trying to force the rusty thing open "But I steal."

Serenity narrowed her eyes, not fully comprehending what he was trying to say. That is, until she unraveled the folded paper and saw the lines and curves drawn on it. "A map!" she gasped, just as Bakura groaned in effort to unleash the vent "Where'd you get this?" she asked in amazement, observing the unfamiliar names of the corridors and the strange lines of different colors. It was all hand-drawn. A map of Kuru Eruna….amazing.

"Where do you think?" Bakura rhetorically asked, as he used all his strength to retain his grip a little longer. A light of understanding dawned upon Serenity's features.

"The Leader of the GOULS!" she excitedly said, as she heard Bakura mutter a low 'mm-hmm' in affirmative. Serenity looked at the priceless tool in her hands. If only they'd had this before…Hm. Ironic. Perhaps clones needed maps too, sometimes. After all, this place was huge, and all the corridors looked exactly the same…

Serenity spotted a little red mark in the map, where someone had written 'X' on. Above the mark there was a name 'Hydro Preservation-Stabilization room'…Hmmm….If that small little space was the room Bakura Nehti's sleeping body was in, then the corridor outside it must have been where they were right now. Thus, they were located in the 'H12-J67' corridor. Serenity checked one of the codenames of the sleeping people around her and verified what she had assumed. The names of the corridors were set according to the codenames of the Sleepers. Thus, if they followed the map to the spot that said 'A1'…they would find the master mind responsible for this!

But first, they had to find the others. They had to clear up this mess! What was going on with this 'emergency' deal? Were the others in trouble?

SLAM! Serenity saw the metallic cover of the vent hit the floor, just as Bakura landed with feline grace beside her. She started sneezing and coughing because of all the dust that was now coming down the vent.

Bakura also sneezed but shook his head and recovered soon enough. He took the map from Serenity's hands.

"We have to get the others" he instructed, and coughed heavily a couple of times. Taking hold of Serena's arm, he passed it over his head and kneeled "Climb onto me." He instructed, but she refused.

"You go first, then pull me up." She asked. Huffing and cursing about female obstinacy, Bakura repeated the process of climbing in the vent. Only this time, he climbed inside it, releasing more dust and making Serenity sneeze all over again. In order to crouch around the vent tube, Bakura couldn't see Serenity for a few moments. It only took those moments to hear a terrified shriek come from underneath.

"What's wrong?" Bakura smirked, thinking she'd probably seen a mouse or something. Nevertheless, he hurried as much as he could to see what was going on with her "See a cockroach and got scared?" Bakura sneered. Then he finally managed to pop his head over the vent and see what was happening.

"Indeed, Nehti…She saw a very big cockroach." The slithery voice said, lavender eyes glowing in the darkness.

Bakura froze. This he had not expected. This he had not foreseen. That the Leader would wake up so fast, he hadn't known…But now it was too late, since clone 290 already had taken out his spare knife, and was holding it over Serenity's throat. Serenity, who was staring up at the albino with eyes narrowed and determined. 'Get out' she was telling him 'Forget about me'…

But he couldn't do it. And damn, did he hate himself and his recently-acquired conscience!

"Give me the Rod, Nehti, or the girl dies." 290 said simply, blankly, robotically. There was no crazed emotion, no spark. Just a sense of dutiful assignment.

"I don't have the Rod. Marik does. You know that. " Bakura calmly answered, shrugging. He wasn't willing to accept even for a moment that he had fallen victim to this man's fey looks. How cliché of him, really!

"Nice try," 290 answered and tightened his hold on the completely silent girl, who was still staring at the albino with that hard, determined gaze "But I already know where it is."

Bakura raised his eyebrow at the other "Oh yeah? If you saw it, then why didn't you take it when you had the chance?" he asked the logical question. The other grinned, and this time a serpent's coyness reached his eyes.

"I was sadly too distracted by your ass at that time. Silly of me." 290 answered bluntly, making Bakura glare and Serenity gasp in surprise at the crude suggestion.

"Too bad you won't get to touch it again." Bakura lost no beat in saying, his eyes narrowed down to slits.

290 snorted, glaring at the other just as intensely "Don't flatter yourself, fag-boy. I wouldn't rub up to you again if the world depended on it!" he said in a cold voice, making Bakura snort at the furious look in his lilac eyes.

"Thank God. After all, I only ever wanted Marik. Not some slimy, unoriginal, uninteresting _clone_ to give it to me." Bakura spit out, enjoying the indignant fury in the other's eyes, and his trembling hands. This was good, Bakura thought. If he managed to distract his opponent, he'd be able to immobilize 290 with no trouble…

"How about your precious _Marik?_ He's a clone too, forgot about that?" 290 barked, rage now boiling free in his eyes, startling both Bakura and Serenity with its sudden intensity. 290 had gotten unnecessarily worked up about his, Bakura noticed…_too_ worked up…

"What's _he_ got more that I do?" 290 scathily inquired, in a tone that suggested pure, boiling, uncontained envy and malice combined.

Bakura narrowed his eyes, searching in his mind for the most atrocious thing he could find, but he could only think of one, honest word "A soul."

This time 290's lightning crystal eyes almost melted their sockets from burning ire. The man tightened the knife over Serenity's throat, alarming Bakura slightly. Suddenly, the fury was wiped out from 290's face, and another expression came. A cold, mocking, self-satisfied one. It was the look of a snake before it shot vitriol.

"You know when I told you Nehti's files were classified?" he started, making Bakura's attention focus immediately. The computer's emergency warnings were muffled now, and only 290's voice mattered. 290 face, which held the expression of someone about to get his own back.

"Well, like with everything else, I lied. Not only was Nehti's file not classified; it was the most notorious case in the entire lab!" He continued briskly with eager eyes, and Bakura grit his teeth at the other's smug smile "Bakura Nehti was indeed brought to Kuru Eruna when he was fifteen years old, but I never told you _why_. You see, his father worked here, as one of the most prestigious and experienced scientists."

Bakura's hands turned into fists, thinking that 290 was lying once again. He had to be! Bakura's father…this place…it wasn't possible.

"Apart from a great scientist" 290 continued in his scathing tone "he was also a traitor." He spit the word out like venom "He wanted to betray what went on in Kuru Eruna to the government. He was righteous, you see. He didn't understand that sacrifices must be made in order to attain immortality!" at these purposely venomous words, he started marking Serenity with his knife, slightly. Bakura waited, shuddering like an ill man, to see where this was going.

"Your father's been making deals, kid…dangerous deals…" 

"_What was that sound? Who's there?"_

"So, in order to silence him once and for all, Kuru Eruna wiped him out. Him and all his family. They raided his house on Earth's surface, raped and murdered his wife…they were planning something along those lines for his son too, but the brat, Nehti, managed to escape."

"The key is under the rug!" 

"_What was that sound?"_

"_Someone's in the house!"_

"_Run, don't look back! Run!"_

Bakura gritted his teeth, his nails digging in skin now, Ryou's blood throbbing in his veins.

"_I can't fucking believe it! He shot me! The little prick shot me!"_

"Ryou…You're the only one I have left…Mom-" 

"Fifteen-year-old Nehti ran to his closest relative: his cousin, Ryou. Thus, he carried with him the deaths of Ryou's parents and sister, when Eruna tracked him down in their house . The two boys- you and your cousin- were carried here. A much worse fate was ordained for you than for your parents." 290 sadistically laughed, making Bakura's blood pump harder, more violently.

"_To Kuru Eruna, brat! Finally, A place where you'll learn some real manners!"_

"_Ryou…They're coming…They're coming for us now, so…"_

"They conducted experiments on you, altered your body with artificial enhancements, forced chemicals in your veins…They did the same to Ryou, whose hair turned white from physical mutilation. He's not an albino, you see…how could he be, when his eyes are normal brown, and natural albinos have red? Then, they ran genetic tests on both of you, until an experiment went wrong. A formula designed to regenerate cells backfired completely, and instead of younger Ryou became much older than he really was. They altered your memory, put you through brain-"

"AHHHH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!" 

"_Don't you recognize it, Nehti? It's you. "_

"_MY HEAD! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO ME?"_

"_Sick? I'm not the one with the red eyes, Nehti…"_

"_You must be lonely, boy…miss your dear cousin yet? Beautiful boy he is…but no one can reach your brilliance, can they? You're certainly my most favoritev toy…Haha..hahaha….mwahahahahaha!"_

" Sick! You're sick! All of you!" "Ryou….Ryou…what have they done to you….your face…" 

"…_ALL OF YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?"_

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UUUUUUP!" Bakura screamed with finality and launched himself down, letting himself fall on the satisfied- looking 290 and a startled Serenity.

"What's the matter, Nehti? Can't take the truth?" 290 taunted like a demon, while rolling with Bakura on the floor, trying to jam his hand against Bakura's chin.

"At least I'm not a clone! I'm one and only!" Bakura roared, dragging his opponent in a head-lock and forcing him to stay there for a few moments.

"That's right! You're not even a man! You're a computer simulation!" 290 yelled derisively as he forced his elbow in the other's ribs. Bakura groaned and fell back, so 290 got his perfect chance to grab the Rod from its safe haven in Bakura's clothes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! AAHAHAHA! You ignoramus! You complete and utter idiot!" 290 shouted, as his eyes suddenly lit with electric sparks, much like the rest of his body. It was his reaction to the rod. It was nothing like the crazy haze Marik had slipped into before, but it was scary enough.

"Did you really think you could outsmart me?" he roared, forcing the Rod on Bakura and making the albino scream in torment, grabbing his head desperately as though trying to keep it from imploding. "After all, I'm a clone. Right? I've got no _soul! RIGHT?_"

"AAARGHHHH!" Bakura desperately howled, the crushing pain of the mind-control threatening to pulverize him completely.

"Just tell me this, Bakura! Answer me this and I'll spare your life! Who did you say you love in that room? Me or Marik? Answer me! Who's the one who showed you the way to live? Huh?" the clone screamed at him, now completely irate.

"Maa…marrik…"Bakura drawled on, rapidly losing his sense of location and existence. Light and colour was becoming one. He couldn't separate reality from dreams.

"DAMN YOU, NEHTI!" Marik…or maybe he just looked like Marik…Bakura didn't know any more…But the man was screaming and cursing, saying how much he hated Bakura for all he was worth.

"Get off me you wench!" 290 suddenly screamed at Serenity, who had pounced on him and was trying to make him let go of the Rod. "Get off! You've done enough as it is!" he shouted and forced Serenity to fall flat on the floor with a desperate cry.

"Stop it!" she shrieked at the crazed Leader of the GOULS "Can't you see you're killing him?" she desperately tried.

"He was dead long ago. I'm just making things right again." 290 answered coldly, not once reverting his mercilessly angered eyes from the man who was fading under his feet.

"So you'll prove him right?" Serenity dared "Have you no soul?"

At this, the man's head whipped up, trying to deny what she just told him. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. He was on the verge of saying something, when the computer's voice sounded more urgent than ever in the megaphones.

"_Security breached. Code R8. Security breached. Code R8"_

Hearing this, clone 290 halted his torturing of Bakura and stood to listen. Upon hearing 'Code R8' his eyes widened and the Rod tightened in his hands. Serenity knew she had to take that thing away from him as soon as possible. But how?

"I can't believe it!" 290 said, with a tone of true amazement "What did your friends do to raise Code R8?" he asked the girl, who looked at him in confusion.

The man rolled his eyes in annoyance and explained "Code R8 means that entire Kuru Eruna is under siege. All security clone units are released at once. The doors of the Sleepers shut down…Kuru Eruna locks itself…What have you done?"

At the woman's hesitant shrug, the Leader clicked his tongue in annoyance and looked around, verifying the shut doors. He suddenly started to walk away towards a door.

"Oh no you don't!" a deep voice was suddenly heard, as Bakura jumped up in a flash of silver and disarmed 290 with a fluent move. The clone blinked, startled, but it was already too late. Bakura was behind him, aiming the knifed edge of the Rod at 290's back.

"Now _you_ follow_ us_, you snake, before I initiate my personal ritual of 'Termination'. And you know what _that_ means, don't you?" Bakura threatened, forcing the dagger against the clone's back even harder than before.

290 didn't say anything, only stared forward in obvious fury. He was probably hating himself in his head right now. Bakura liked that general idea.

The silver-headed boy grabbed the other's arm and forced him to turn around. Bakura pointed at the ventilation entrance above, while Serenity observed 290 with a scowl.

"Ladies first." Bakura drawled on, jabbing the clone's back with his Rod-dagger and enjoying every minute of it. 290 turned his head around a little, eyes barely seeing Bakura. The he turned around and glared at absolute nothingness.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" came another crude suggestion, but this time Bakura had had enough of it. He grabbed the back of the other's neck, making sure his sharp nails dug in the creamy flesh. The other didn't let out even the slightest flinch, but Bakura knew it must hurt, since blood was coming out in droplets.

"Walk." The albino simply ordered, golden rod still sharp at the other's back. 290 sighed inconspicuously and took a step forwards. Noa's alerts were still going off around them.

Bakura and Serenity both watched, with narrowed eyes, as 290 jumped and grabbed the vent opening, all the time huffing indignantly. His irritation worsened when he realized he'd have to crawl through the slimy vents, accompanied by two overly irritating nincompoops. He didn't want to think about how his stupid personal _feelings_ had gotten in the way before, when he could've just wiped them both out while he had the time.

-

One more door down, and the energy reserve of the laser gun would diminish completely. And once that would happen…they'd be left in the mercy of the clones, uncontrolled and on the loose as they were. Marik wondered if any one of them had woken up as confused and afraid as he had ten years ago. Could it be that there was another like him: a complete replica of the original Marik from 600 years ago?

Judging from the screams…

Not bloody likely.

"Quick, they're gaining on us!" Yugi called over the enraged shouts of more than a hundred galloping children, who had managed to pass quickly enough through all the laser hoops Marik had opened in the metallic doors.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Marik found the energy to summon a sarcastic comeback, just as they made a mad turn at a corner and came face to face with another locked door.

"Hurry!" Yugi urged while whipping around and making sure to counterattack all the hits he kept receiving from the young clones that had reached him. Oh yes, Yugi fought with them normally now, as though they were grown men. We had overridden the mentality of 'not hitting children' some time ago, since these children appeared to be born with inate ju-jitsu abilities and a fair amount of physical strength above average, even for a fully grown male.

"Done!" Marik shouted after what seemed like a century to the struggling Yugi. Marik used a brutal hit to kick the door apart.

"Finally!" Yugi said in glee as he ran through the opening with Marik hot on his heels.

"This thing is no use anymore! No more power left!" Marik tossed away the laser, which found its aim and landed a square hit on one of the clones's heads.

"We need another escape route! This corridor doesn't go on forever!" Yugi complained as he sprinted frantically alongside Marik, his black leather pants squeaking in protest at the usurpation. The spiked black leather coughs around his neck and middle were also threatening to come undone. Overall, this look was decidedly non-Yugi.

Marik knew that if they tried to escape through the vents, the clones would most likely follow them. Besides, when would they find the time required to open up and climb into a vent? The clones would destroy them before they'd even get a chance to think about it. No, there had to be another way. A way to get rid of those little demons altogether!

Just as they were running, far too distracted by their frantic thinking of an alternate escape, they heard an earth shattering sound of metal clashing on metal coming from the far front. Anxious about what horror would be awaiting them next, both friends found themselves caught in a situation where it didn't matter which way you went; possible death was waiting just around the corner, anyway.

Marik, who still felt the personal fulfillment and adrenaline of Ishrat's final destruction coursing through his veins, was the one to take the brave sprint forwards. Red and green light mingled together in the dark corridor, until both the Game King and Marik finally saw what had caused the racket.

The metallic cover of the vent had dropped from the ceiling to the floor, causing the sound to echo all around the abandoned place. But over the fallen vent was standing a man –blonde and chocolate skinned, a complete replica of Marik- who was facing upwards and helping to lower to the floor a woman, who was held from above by a pair of pale hands…

"Oh no!" Yugi gasped, trying to catch up to Marik's now frenzied pace, "The clones are coming! We've got to warn them!" he said, immediately recognizing the woman as Serenity and the pale man in the vent as Bakura.

"BAKURA!" Marik screamed at the top of his lungs, causing both Serena and clone 290 to turn and stare at him in alert "Get out of here! No! Go back!"

"Mariku!" Bakura's voice was suddenly heard, out of the frame. His silver head suddenly hung down the vent, completely upside down "MARIK!" he shouted in what could only be a deliriously gleeful tone "Are you okay? What-"

Apparently, the endless hordes of blood-covered, gnawing clones that had been after Yugi and Marik finally came to the silver-headed boy's view. 290, who had been glaring at Marik for all he was worth, as if Marik was the vilest insect this world had ever seen, was now alert and completely amazed, seeing for his own eyes what Kuru Eruna had never seen before.

"Oh _shit_" Bakura said, his red eyes wide and unblinking in disbelief. "Take my hand, get back up here!" he yelled at Serenity, who desperately grabbed his hand, trying with all her might not to scream and make this situation even more difficult.

"So what now, big boy? Can't control _them, _can you?" 290 sneered derisively at his identical counterpart, but Marik didn't have the time or the mind to deal with this particular one yet. Ohhhh, Marik would take care of him in due time, all right. This slime had been asking for it all along, trying to mess with the most important person in Marik's life...Marik had a special something for him, but now was not the time.

"I can't hold them back much longer!" Yugi called. Despite Marik's aid, the clones were raising dangerously in number, and both Yugi and his tanned friend had felt scratches and brutal bites mar their skin more than once. And they certainly weren't erotic bites, as Bakura's had been. They were hard and intended to hurt, brutal and guttural. Most clones could be seen with coppery staining the lower part of their jaws. If they hadn't bitten or somehow defiled Marik and Yugi, it was highly possible they had clawed and gnawed on each other, just by their deranged fetish for violence. Splatters of blood had covered the corridor's walls and the Sleeper's glass cocoons by now.

Blood everywhere. On everyone.

"OUCH! YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Yugi roared, kicking a child in an effort to shake it off. But when he kicked one, five others took its place.

"Yugi! Take my hand!" Serenity beseeched from the top of the vent, but Yugi had seen red now.

"No! I'm not going anywhere until I get this little twit!" the challenged Game King roared, throwing punches without looking anymore, since it was mathematically inevitable that his punch would find solid target, no matter where he hit.

"Come on!" Marik grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him towards the opening of the vent, but Yugi, loaded with energy as he was, automatically sent a punch to Marik's jaw, making the other howl in pain and bend over.

"ARE YOU NUTS? Why the hell did you do _that _for?" Marik yelled at him, eyeing him in disbelief amongst the chaos. From the side 290 was sniggering. Marik noticed that the grown clone had climbed in the vent, completely safe from enemy attacks. Snivelling little coward.

"Sorry!" Yugi kept saying, trying to see if Marik was okay through his punching spree "I'm just so used to seeing your face everywhere and hitting it…" to accentuate his point, he struck down a young clone boy who was trying to make his way to them.

"Well not _this _Marik's face!" Marik protested, trying to kick at children and cradle the growing bump on this –already broken and now bleeding- nose at the same time.

"I can't take this anymore!" someone shouted from atop the vent all of a sudden, and Marik saw a flash of silver white jump on his left. Bakura descended like a hurricane, golden Rod drawn out and already shopping off random parts of the offenders' anatomy.

Finally, Bakura thought, the proper part of this stupid Rod was being used.

"WOMAN!" the albino roared at Serenity, whilst Marik tried to aid him in fighting the clones, who were now dispersing and yelling in terror- afraid of the albino's lethal weapon. "Drag _her highness_ up! And YOU" he aimed his scorching glare at an alarmed Yugi "Try to hurt him again" he motioned with his head to Marik's direction "and I'll make sure you'll have no head to put that spiky crown of yours on."

It was safe to say that even the lordly Yugi was disconcerted when faced with a blood covered Bakura. He didn't dare go against Bakura's words as long as the albino still held a knife. Bakura and Marik stayed down to continue the fight, while Serenity pulled Yugi up with the reluctant aid of clone 290.

"If you're done down there, could we please pull you up and _leave now_?" Serenity's screechy voice was heard from above, Marik briefly turned upwards to look at her. "What's _he_ doing there? Leave him down to rot and die!" the tanned boy complained in an irate fashion, glaring daggers at the clone 290, who was now bending over the vent with Yugi and Tea. Marik hated this one so much that he truly felt like his entire essence was on fire from the intensity of his –admittedly meaningless- jealousy. There was no reason why Marik should feel so threatened by this clone, but he did nonetheless. He wanted 290 nowhere near Bakura, for that matter!

"We can't just leave him here!" Serenity cried, and Marik's blood started pumping furiously in his veins upon seeing 290's absolutely self-satisfied smirk, which suggested he thought of Marik as no less than a useless fly. "Marik give me your hand!" Yugi shouted, stretching as downwards as Serenity could support him.

"Bakura! Go first!" Marik shouted at the albino, whose clothes were now ragged and painted in red. At least most of it. The Rod gave electrical shots to the unfortunate people it stabbed, and corpses were now littering the previously spotless floor. The clones had apparently stopped attacking, looking at Bakura apprehensively, obviously terrified to go near him without a proper strategy.

"No you go." Bakura slowly said "I'm the one they're afraid of…"

"Bakura, I can't-"

"GO!" Bakura roared at him in his most earth-shattering commanding tone, and Marik took a step back, startled. A familiar scorching feeling entered his chest, the same one he had felt when he'd seen Bakura confessing his love to clone 290 on screen. Bakura had just shouted at him as though Marik was nothing but dirt on his sole…He understood that the circumstances they were in called for desperation, but still...Marik felt the same jealous fear overtake him from the inside…

'Why is he being like this…he's not really in love with me, is he…? After what happened with that disgusting clone, he doesn't love me anymore…or maybe something else happened I don't know of…'

Shaken and apprehensive, and suddenly feeling _extremely_ aware of 290's teasing eyes, Marik took Yugi's hand, and together Serenity and the spiky haired boy pulled him up, while 290 sat idly to the side and watched with a half-interested, half-derisive glare.

Marik avoided his eyes at first, still shaken because of Bakura's harsh tone, and then he returned the look, only with a much more intense level of hatred and malice combined.

"You should have left him to the vultures." Marik bitterly told his friends, once he was finally settled safely in the dark solemnity of the vent tube.

"Bakura! Come on!" Serenity called, and both she, Yugi and Marik lowered their hands to help him. Marik idly noticed their conduct towards Bakura, and how extraordinarily friendly it seemed in comparison to the way they'd originally treated him. Ryou's 'darkside' was almost one of them now. No, wait. He _was_ one of them, if one took Serenity's worried gaze and Yugi's reluctant concern into account.

Bakura suddenly made a jump for it, grabbing the most available hand he could find, which was Yugi's. Marik tried to help, but Serenity and Yugi seemed to be making a fair job of it. That was, until Marik saw his mirror image –clone 290- helping drag Bakura up as well.

Marik heard a great gong ring in the interior of his head, signaling that his blood had just rushed to his head a little faster than was safe for his health.

"Get your hands off him, you liar slime!" Marik roared in complete rage, losing all semblance of control. If it weren't for the limited space of the ventilation shaft, Marik was sure he would've pounced and ripped 290's eyes out, just out of pure fury for everything the other had done.

The blissful feeling of righteous justification came when 290 drew his hands back immediately, as though burned, turning to look at a ballistic Marik with a decidedly guilty look. Marik didn't let his rage waver, not even for a minute.

"It's okay…I'm fine…" Bakura said as Yugi and Serenity finally helped him up those last few centimeters. Marik was suddenly feeling extremely strange, seeing as the last thing Bakura had told him was 'GO' in a particularly unloving tone…and now Bakura seemed totally preoccupied with everything happening around them. Preoccupied enough not to see Marik…and Bakura hadn't protested about 290's presence here either…Could it be…No. Marik didn't even want to think about it, trying not to jinx it.

But still the first strokes of an unknown, completely alien feeling started crowing his heart with their sharp thorns. That love confession he'd seen…was it possible that in the small amount of time that had intervened…and this 290 worm seemed particularly inclined to help the albino…

"Let's go somewhere safe…the nearby corridors are still locked from all sides. We'll be safe there- at least for a while…And we've got the map, too…" Serenity instructed, making Bakura nod. All of them bent over the vent, their heads popping up from the darkness to see what was going on underneath. They saw the clones jumping up desperately, but they were too uncoordinated and too small to reach the vents, or climb to them. Well, perhaps they could climb, but when they managed to find the way, Marik and company would be long gone.

For the time being, the clones were just focused of avoiding the carcasses of their dead 'brothers' and clawing at the walls or each other desperately, as though they were zombies trying to reach the vents with nails and teeth. They didn't seem to be at all intelligent, save for the customary feral needs.

"They haven't received the Initiation yet…only the primary brain control centers are operating. That's why it looks like they move under one brain." 290 explained idly, while staring at the small versions of what he once was, no doubt.

"Of course" Marik didn't bother stopping the venom from coming out "Just like you." He scathingly said, making both Yugi and Serenity turn at him with a questioning look, obviously confused as to why he was being so intentionally hostile towards somebody who was an enemy acting –suspiciously- friendly. 290 was only acting like that because he had nothing else to do, probably, now that psychotic clones were on the loose. He'd probably turn against them the moment he could get his hands on the Rod. That's why they all had to be extra careful around him…but there was no reason not to try to actually provoke an honest change of heart from him…

290 seemed silenced by Marik's last observation, and he simply turned to look at Bakura, a thing which infuriated Marik even more. What was going on between those two? What, were they _boyfriends_ now? What gave that little shit the right to look at Bakura like that? He'd make that slimy coward pay for what he'd almost done to Bakura and to all of them in general!

"This vent section can only lead us as far as the L34-L288 corridor. Then we can't go any further." Bakura explained, pointing thoughtfully at the map while screams and guttural sounds from the clones served as a background to his thinking. Marik, Yugi and Serenity came closer to check out the map. Once it was revealed where Bakura and Serenity had acquired this wonderful tool of a map, Marik's vision turned scarlet once again, not allowing him to settle down and think rationally.

"Let me see that!" Serenity snapped and took the map from Bakura's hands. A few days ago such an action would have provoked Bakura's fury unrestrained. Now it just passed as normal. And suddenly, it hit Marik. That was it. Now that Bakura had been accepted by the others… since Bakura seemed to be growing less aloof each passing day…

"Then we go there" Bakura said, turning to the others to see if they agreed. Since when did Bakura care if people _agreed _or not? Usually, Bakura never cared about democratic procedures. Most of the time he just _ordered._

"Well, that's settled then" Serenity said, while both Yugi and Bakura nodded skeptically, and 290 simply stared at them curiously "First we go to the farthest corridor we can reach, an then we tell Yugi and Marik what we discovered about this place. We'll go from there. What do you say, Marik?" Serenity suddenly asked, turning to face the blond young man, only to see he was staring down at the clones blankly, lost deep in his musings. A vein was throbbing at the side of his neck, and blood gurgled down from the various bites on his body. His skin had been defiled completely, raised up in crusts where various teeth had sunk. Bakura's mark on his neck was no longer discernible.

"Marik?" Serenity asked again, and the blond shook his head quickly turning to his friends, only to see they were all looking at him. Bakura's blood eyes deep and calculating, burned him most of all.

"I'm fine. So, let's go, already. I hate these clones." He hastily said, not particularly caring what had been said, only about being with Bakura alone, finally. Oh, he needed a word with Bakura, all right…and he had so much to tell that bastard, 290, too. All this secrecy was killing him. He wanted to tell everyone. Yugi already knew, but Serenity…He wanted to be free…To prove to himself and to that god-damned 290 clone that Bakura really loved him. _Him._ Bakura. He wanted it to show….but Bakura…Bakura…

They all started crouching forward, 290 the first in line, since they had to be wary of him, and Marik the last. Every moment that went by, Marik's fury kept intensifying, aimed at 290 and perhaps a little at Bakura, for acting the way he did.

God, Marik hated the clones! He despised them with all his heart! Disgusting, vicious creatures. He wanted to destroy them from the core. To wipe out every last bit of cinder left from their ashes! He wanted them dead! All of them! He wanted to rip out their dilated blue eyes and to tear their pretty mocha skin from bone to bone. He wanted to be the only one who looked like himself. He wanted to have a self…As long as those sick clones stayed alive, he could never really have that, could he?

But most of all, he hated _this_ clone! The one who had attempted to take the one he loved away from him! Marik hated this one with a passion unlike any other, compared perhaps to the passion he felt for Bakura…

They crawled and crawled through the dark corridors, around corners and across pipes, until Serenity and Bakura finally seemed to be satisfied, and they all finally climbed out the ventilation system and into a typical red-green corridor.

The moment they all set foot on the floor and made sure they were perfectly safe and completely alone in there, save for the Sleepers, of course, Marik lost no time in whirling around and pointing an accusing figure at his mirror image, who looked decidedly annoyed.

"YOU!" he shouted, not caring at the moment if he revealed too much of his relationship with Bakura to his friends. For the moment, the only thing he could feel was blind fury for this man. This coward who had almost cost him everything he'd worked so hard to attain.

"HOW DARE YOU? You sniveling coward? How dare you impersonate me? Don't act like you don't know- Ishrat showed me everything! I killed him! Did you know that? I killed your precious mentor!" Marik shouted as he advanced on the other clone. Bakura and Yugi were temporarily startled, so they didn't get to restrain Marik before the tanned boy lunged at 290 and started fighting with the protesting clone.

"You think I care about him? It was high time he left, if you ask me! Oh, and by the way, your sweetheart is a wonderful kisser!" 290 taunted evilly, avoiding Marik's uncalculated hits.

"YOU FUCK! I'LL KILL YOU!" Marik practically screamed as he pounced and started trying to pound on the other's ribs, ignoring the fact that the bites on his own body hurt every time he moved, that his shoulder was wounded from a laser and that his nose was half-broken. He would hold on, just for the pleasure of destroying this piece of shit.

"Marik wait! No! We don't have time for this! Serenity shouted, but there was no stopping Marik now. He'd been ignored enough. He was hurt, tired, hungry, furious and insanely jealous, for some reason. This clone would pay for what he'd attempted to do! Marik subconsciously felt that 290 was the biggest threat in this place, since it was not a physical one, but a threat against Marik's relationship with Bakura. A threat which had to be eliminated immediately. Immediately!

Marik felt hands pull him back roughly, and he struggled to continue hitting the other, but 290 squiggled out of his grasp before Marik could shake off Bakura and Yugi, who were restraining him.

"Get off me! Let me kill him!" Marik spat menacingly "YOU"LL DIE, YOU HEAR? Nobody impersonates me! What did you think, just because you look like me you're entitled to _be_ me, or something?" Marik shouted, ignoring the fact that they were trapped in an underground lab, surrounded by flashing alarms and half-dead Sleepers, and bloodied from top to bottom "Bakura! Give me the Rod! Give me it! I'll send this _bastard_ where he belongs!"

But Bakura kept holding Marik back "Calm down, Mariku…We'll keep an eye on hi- …"

At the defensive tone in Bakura's voice, Marik's heart lurched painfully, and he saw red.

" What is this, Bakura? What, are we defending this little liar now? So he's better than me, is that it? What the hell, did he put a spell on you or something? Let me go- I'll kill him!" Marik screeched at the top of his lungs, his ire now unleashed and reaching record highs, while Bakura also shouted at him to calm down. Unfortunately for the two of them, the conversation was starting to take an entirely different direction, and Marik's anger at 290 was morphing into what it really was. Fear. Of losing Bakura.

"It's not like that! Nothing happened!" Bakura shouted back "If you'd just listen-"

Too bad Marik was too angry to care whether or not he'd reveal their secret to his other friends, who were now watching the fight uncomfortably, not really knowing or wanting to interfere.

"I want to kill him I tell you! Let me go! Why are you doing this? So you love him, is that it? You want _him_? How _could _you? I'll…I'll… " Marik fought Bakura valiantly, while 290 watched the entire display from the side, sufficiently alarmed. Had one known where to look, they'd see a muscle pumping anxiously at his jaw. He watched Bakura as he struggled with Marik, watched the albino's sharp eyes soften and warm as he looked upon his treasured one…Bakura's loved one…who looked just like him.

Oh, God, how he _hated_ Marik…what did Bakura see in this emotional rack, anyway? What did Marik have that was so special…? If having a soul meant being hysterical half the time, then 290 was fine the way he was, thank you very much.

But he still _hated_ Marik. Bakura was stupid to love him.

"So this is the prototype?" the Leader of the GOULS commented scathingly "A madman? You're not all you're cracked up to be, I'll give you that." He finished, but was taken aback when Marik and Bakura both turned to him and screamed "SHUT UP!" at the same time, then went back to their quarrel, which was gaining volume and intensity with each passing moment, since Marik was now not focusing on fighting 290, but an equally intense Bakura.

"What are you talking about? I only said that because I thought he was you! What the heck- How the heck do you even _know_ about this anyway? Here I was, all worried because you-" Bakura was shouting while trying to keep Marik from escaping his grasp. Serenity and Yugi looked on with uncomfortable gazes, not knowing what to do, except maybe to act confused. They both knew about the real relationship between Bakura and Marik, of course, but having it out in the open was an entirely different matter…

"Oh _really_? Is that our new excuse now?" Marik roared, his temper shooting up "You thought I wasn't looking so you thought you could get off with him fine, did you! Well guess again, because I saw EVERYTHING! I saw what you told him! How could you think it was me, after all we've been through together?"

"Well what would you do if I showed up and turned out to be another person? It's not my fault he looks exactly like you! What was I supposed to think-" Bakura tried to reason, but it was no use.

"Oh, save it, will ya? You're just using excuses so as not to admit you liked it when he-"

"Do you even think before you speak? What the hell are you talking about? I thought he was _you _the whole time"

"Oh really? As though I'd ever come on to you in plain view! Of course you knew it wasn't me! But that didn't stop you from friggin' _confessing_ to him, did it? Was _that_ me? How could you mistake that scumbag for me? How could you-"

But there was no end to that sentence. Bakura had made Marik cease his overly jealous, maniacal drivel the only way he knew, except for slapping him, which was not an option.

"Uh…Com' on, guys…I think we better give them some privacy here…" Yugi motioned for Serenity and 290 to follow him as he walked towards the nearest corner.

"Jesus, we don't have _time_ for this!" Serenity's distressed whisper was heard, but it fell on deaf ears, since the couple was far from paying attention. She tried to look at Bakura and Marik as little as possible as she walked after Yugi, completely forgetting about 290 and how dangerous he could prove to be if not under constant supervision. The bitter truth was that Serenity felt she had to get away from the sight of her boyfriend's body kissing someone else as quickly as possible.

Apart from weird, seeing Bakura kiss another guy _like that _was disconcerting to say the least.

290 unconsciously lingered for a minute longer, a bizarre look on his face. He witnessed reality first hand, seeing the picture of what he had already known, Bakura and Marik clutching at each other, kissing desperately, clawing at one another's bodies as though they were both anchors and boats at the same time.

The clone watched, a decidedly unreadable look in his eyes, as the very man he had tried to seduce before was now in his right place. It felt so strange to see it first hand, though. The reality of it finally sunk in, as he actually _saw_ the truth with his own eyes. The unbelievable, strangely gut-wrenching truth. The depth of his previous deception finally sunk in, right then and there, when he finally saw the real thing, splayed out before his eyes in all its glory. _Real_ passion.

_Real_ love.

Bakura was growling as he hauled his lover against the wall, forcing their bodies together, molding them into one. 290 watched the mirror image of himself arching and writhing as the albino rocked his hips against his lithe body, having now forgotten all semblance of reason or restraint. Was this how he himself would look, 290 thought, had he been the one in Bakura's arms, melting beneath Bakura's touch, gasping under Bakura's breath? Was this how he would cry out in strangled pleasure, had Bakura whispered words in his ears like he was doing with Marik right then?

Probably not. After all, clones never have the original personality, do they?

"Hey, you. Walk where I can see you." A commanding voice suddenly interrupted 290's thoughts, and he looked up to see Dark Yugi brandishing a metal pole at him. Ah…still mad about the brown haired woman then, eh? Well, 290 supposed it would be logical for this Yugi kid to be wary of him, seeing as he was both stronger and more skilled in martial arts. He could slaughter this kid anytime he wanted. The real threat was Bakura and Marik. He had to eliminate them at the opportune moment.

290 smirked and shrugged, leering at Serenity and Yugi both as he walked around the corner. He was unable to resist a last look at the now completely passionate couple, his eyes lingering particularly on Bakura's pain-pleasured face.

"We don't want you anywhere near the Rod now, do we, clone?" Yugi muttered derisively from the back, and Serenity's scowl mirrored her friend's intense distrust.

290 cursed at himself inwardly for having let himself be dragged in this situation. Strangely even at his most malicious scheming about murdering Marik, thoughts of stealing the Rod had evaded him.

-

"It's been ten minutes, they must have calmed down by now…"

"You mean they must have fucked by now."

Serenity glared at the sneering clone. Frustrating as it was to talk to a person who looked exactly like one of her best friends, yet who wasn't said best friend, she also had to deal with 290's charming personality traits.

"No, for your information, that's not what I meant." She huffed at him annoyedly, in the fashion women usually do when angered or teased by men. Men who are jerks like this one, that is.

290 sneered at her from behind his crossed arms. He was leaning against the wall opposite from her while Yugi was restlessly pacing around. They were all waiting for a while, until Marik and Bakura went back to normal from their overly tense attitudes. Yugi supposed it would be okay to rest for a while and maybe have a drink of water. Besides, they had managed to move sufficiently away from the hordes of clones…it would be okay to rest for a while.

"Do you always use such unecessarily long sentences for a simple refusal?" 290 distastefully asked the girl.

Serenity raised an annoyed eyebrow "Oh, honestly, look who's talki-"

"SHHHH!" the Game King's loud hiss was suddenly heard, and both others stopped and turned to look at him, more from confusion that from obedience. Yugi's face was still, his eyes narrowed and focused on the ceiling. He seemed to be trying to…listen to something.

"Did you hear that?" he asked in a hushed tone and Serenity looked at him in perplexion while 290 also checked the atmosphere for any weird sounds.

"What?" the clone finally asked, decidedly annoyed at having missed something. Yugi didn't speak for a few moments, then his head snapped up again with his eyes wide and alarmed.

"That!" he pointed an index finger upwards, as though that would explain everything.

"Yugi, what are you talking about? I can't hear a thing…" Serenity reassured him, but his tense figure gave her an ominous feeling none the less. She started to stand up and gather her things, while Yugi slowly approached one of the corridor walls next to a Sleeper capsule.

"Listen…" Yugi said as he placed both hands on the damp wall and adhered his ear to it.

Silence reigned for a few moments, while all three of them stood still, trying to listen carefully but not managing to hear anything.

Serenity opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but she immediately snapped it closed when she heard…

Small sounds…coming from faraway…they reminded Serenity of nails scraping against metal, only very far away. The sounds kept multiplying…becoming louder and louder with every passing second. And they were coming…they were coming…from above…

Silence fell for three, maybe four seconds amongst them. Everything passed in slow motion as all three of them looked at each other simultaneously, one alarmed face mirroring the other.

"Run." Yugi suddenly whispered, and somehow, to Serenity's ears, it echoed like a shout.

It was all a blur as they ran back around the corner and to the corridor where they'd left Bakura and Marik, uncaring of whether they'd catch them in an uncompromising position or not. As it were, they ran, first Yugi, then clone 290 and last of all Serenity, towards the end of the corridor, where Bakura and Marik were sitting on the floor side by side, leaning their heads against the wall.

Upon seeing their stampede, a finally rational-looking Marik sat up in surprise, attracting the albino's attention and making him sit up also.

"What-" Marik started saying, but was cut off by Yugi's shout in no time "Run! The clones! They're at the vents!"

"Wonderful, your highness! Now that you've screamed and pinpointed our position, I guess they'll have no trouble in finding us, will they?" the albino bitterly commented, as he and Marik jumped up and started to run down the corridor, along with the others.

"The doors are bulked! We can't use the vents!" Marik shouted, noticing that there were indeed ominous noises coming from the ceiling and that they were becoming louder by the minute. "There's nowhere to go!" Serenity echoed from the back, noticing that her voice sounded too hoarse and desperate for her own good.

"Take the map out!"

"I told you there's nowhere to go!"

Yugi and Bakura started disputing while running. Meanwhile, Serenity watched the far end of the corridor coming closer as she ran and she knew that once they'd reach the closed door there would really be no way out.

"YOU!" Marik suddenly stopped, his heels echoing slightly from the friction with the floor. He spun around suddenly and grabbed the front of 290's torn shirt, an exact copy of his own "Which way do we go?" Marik inquired roughly, as 290 glared at him defiantly and kept his mouth stubbornly shut.

"You know, if you stay here, the clones will get you too, so it's really your loss!" Yugi warned 290 from behind Marik, who was currently in the middle of the most intense glaring contest Serenity had ever seen.

"Which. Way. Is. Out." Marik demanded, his hand fisting in the other's shirt. Defiantly 290 smirked "If I knew, I'd have killed you and left long ago. This is the first time ever that code R8 has been raised in Eruna." 290 pushed Marik away from him roughly and reassembled his posture "And it's _your_ fault." He finished, still glaring at an angered Marik. But when Bakura walked up and put his hand on Marik's elbow, something broke in the other clone's face, and he looked up to the ceiling, feeling embarrassed, somehow.

"Normally, the vents would be the way out, but now…" he started, just as a particularly loud crash was heard from above.

"They've reached here!" Serenity squeaked, grabbing Yugi's hand and holding onto it with a death grip. "We're gonna die!"

"Shut up." Bakura simply said, not even remotely inclined to deal with mass hysteria right then "Aren't there any more rooms like the one where Nehti's body is?" he asked 290, his face betraying none of what he felt. Somehow, it felt strange to say 'my body' so he settled for 'Nehti's body'…after all…it wasn't really _his_ body. He wasn't in it, was he?

"No…The Hydro PS Room is exclusive…there are no others…" 290 answered quietly, looking more at the floor than at Bakura's face. The albino didn't seem to notice however, since he nodded and looked at the ceiling distractedly. Marik was doing the exact same thing.

"What are we doing? We have to run! Move!" Yugi egged, but Serenity shook her head from beside him "To where? It's pointless…There are thousands of them…once they fill the corridors…we're lost."

Silence fell over their little group as each one of them stared at the side, trying to think without being distracted by their desperation and their fear. The noises were becoming louder yet, now accompanied with shouts and faded voices.

290 stared at the floor, then back at Bakura's frowning face, which let only a sliver of worry show. The albino was staring at the side, seemingly lost in his thoughts…he looked…no, desperate couldn't be the word…

290 squeezed his eyes shut, managing to hate himself and Bakura and Marik all at the same time.

"Although…there might be a way…" his mouth started saying, and he watched carefully as the others turned to him at the same time and Bakura's face lit with renewed spirit.

"What?" Yugi asked eagerly, and 290 nodded, as though deciding something in his mind. Then he spoke again, and even though he was explaining for everyone, his eyes were trained on skeptical red eyes more often than not. But when he met Marik's frigid lilac ones, he immediately looked back at the floor.

"If we could somehow find a way to the main hall, we could get to the Headquarters in no time…I could take you there…Noa will reinforce the shields and the other clones will never be able to get us there…" he said "But we can't go to the great hall through the vents…and I don't know how-"

"I don't trust you." Marik immediately said, not losing a beat "We don't need you to go to the HQ, we have a map."

290 smirked "But how will Noa let you in without me?"

Marik closed his mouth and glared, as though on automatic pilot. His eyes narrowed down to slits.

"You need me to get there." 290 finished, his voice taking on a tone of unshakable glee. The kind of self-satisfaction that grained on Marik's nerves.

"Well, way to go, wiseass. If we knew how to get to the main hall we wouldn't be standing here in the first place, would we?" Marik spat back, satisfied upon seeing that 290 had no suitable comeback for that one.

Silence fell once again, now heavier then before, until Marik started muttering.

"The clones are in the vents…the Sleepers are in the cubicles…who does that leave?" he was saying to himself, and Yugi and Serenity paid no attention to him. Bakura, however, watched him with hawk eyes.

"Bakura that's it!" Marik suddenly growled, turning to the albino and extending his hand in a gesture of request "Give me the Rod!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow and carefully looked at Marik, searching for any trace of lingering hysteria or lunacy. But Marik seemed completely aware of himself, which was even more disconcerting. Marik would never ask for the Rod voluntarily. Bakura knew this, so…

"Why?" and then Bakura narrowed his eyes " I'm not falling for the same trick twice, clone."

But the blond in front of him rolled his eyes and pointed at a newly acquired bite –delivered a few minutes ago from Bakura's teeth- at his collarbone. "Guess again. Now…give me the Rod."

"What the hell?" Bakura simply asked, eyeing the blond warily "You want to wave it around? You know how dangerous it is!"

Ahh….No matter how much he loved the silver haired demon, Marik couldn't deny that sometimes Bakura just asked too many questions.

"Just give it to me!" Marik insisted, now slightly annoyed and impatient, so Bakura finally complied and pulled out the Rod. He handed the golden instrument over very carefully, watching 290 for any signs of offense and watching Marik for any sign of the previous paranoia.

But neither came.

Marik held the Rod in his hand carefully, as though trying to touch it as little as possible. It still hurt a bit when small electric sparks started shooting from the Rod. Marik winced and grabbed his face with one hand. Was it Bakura's imagination, or had there just been some weird twist on Marik's face? Ah, but it was gone now, as fast as it came.

"Now, Bakura, Yugi…this may hurt…As for you…" Marik turned to 290, his voice a little lower than usual, but not significantly so "I don't really care if you hurt or not." He bluntly stated. Then, with a smooth movement, he raised the rod in front of him, to eye level, and closed his eyes.

Bakura and Yugi, completely alarmed by now, started to move towards him, but stopped when something like a bright flash of lightning hit their brains from the inside.

_Come to to me…come to to me…_

The pain was intense, but it wasn't as blinding as other times. It was more of a compelling lullaby. Unable to help themselves, Bakura, Yugi and 290 walked forward like robots, until they came to stand exactly in front of Marik. The pain stopped then, on the most part, but there was still a sense of being held captive, somehow…

"The clones can't be controlled by the Rod…Marik what are you doing?" Serenity asked from the side, as she watched Marik open his eyes suddenly. She thought they looked a little lighter than they usually were, but it must have been her imagination.

_Come to to me…come to my aid…_

Marik didn't answer her, only kept staring forward, as though completely mesmerized. The others could here violent sounds of metal clashing, coming from somewhere close by. The clones had finally reached them….

"WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?" 290 shouted over the noises around and the voices in his brain. He turned around to see small children covered in red. They were starting to descend from the vents.

"I don't know!" Yugi shouted over the crashes and yells "He can't control the clones, so…"

Bakura stayed silent as he stared at the offenders that were coming. He heard Yugi's words and listened to what Marik was saying in their minds…it was true, Marik could not control the clones, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't control the…

Red eyes widened in realization, their bright ruby lighting up.

"Mind slaves! " he said aloud as he turned around abruptly, now watching Marik's overly focused face with reluctant surprise.

_Come to me….Defend me…My servants…_

"Don't be ridiculous! He has no range! He can't get to them from here!" 290 told Bakura in irritation, but Bakura guffawed allowed.

"Marik's not like the rest of you, remember? With the Rod, his power is reinforced tenfold!" he sneered satanically, and 290 shut his mouth immediately and turned away. Unseen to Bakura was how he bit at his lower lip, drawing blood.

"They're coming!" Yugi shouted upon witnessing the advance of the clones against them "Serenity stay behind me!" he shouted as he drew out the familiar metal skeptre which he had used to 'crush heads' before.

"This is hopeless." 290 stated rigidly, standing limply and staring at the dozen clones who were running towards them from across the corridor. How had _he _gotten himself in this situation anyway? He was supposed to be _with_ the clones, not _against_ them!

"Not while I'm here." The now familiar husky voice said from the back left, and Bakura, for lack of any other weapon, pulled out his golden ring. He roughly threaded his fingers through the familiar golden curves so that the spiky clinging edges of the ring now protruded from between his knuckles. He remembered using this technique before, when Ryou had been threatened by cops in the twenty-first century. Were those few memories even real, or were they fake implants? Probably the second.

_Come to me…come to me…now!_

An earth-shattering crashing noise was heard.

Multiple things happened at once. First of all, Bakura felt that he couldn't move away from Marik due to the mind control, but then he found that he didn't need to move away, since the clones had all stopped their attack and were staring blankly at something behind Bakura's back.

Bakura, Yugi and the others whirled around simultaneously, just in time to see none other than an unnaturally tall brunet walk in the corridor through a completely trashed door.

Kaiba Seto.

His entire right hand now the color of heated steel.

So Serenity was right! Kaiba really _was_ an android robot! That's why he was so invincible when fighting! He was a robot! Seto Kaiba, CEO of MediCorp, Champion in perhaps more than a dozen social activities, was a robot! At least his completely defiled metallic arm said so.

And Marik was controlling him. Him and the other mind slaves, the ones that were now walking in the corridor via the door that Kaiba had trashed. Wheeler Senior, Wheeler Mai, Pegasus Max, Rishid, Greene Lena, Honda Kenji, Tanaka Taichi, Brown Rika-Maria, Tray 'Bandit' Kith, Gardener Teanna…all of them…and more…ones that Bakura didn't recognize…maybe they'd been hiding in the darkness of Eruna…

"I guess the cavalry arrived." 290 commented with his hands now crossed and a confident expression on his face.

"Not that you would've done anything had they not." Serenity muttered from the side, as Yugi stared at the newcomers with a hanging jaw. "I can't believe it! At the last moment, he manages to summon them!" he said in disbelieving awe.

Marik opened his eyes, which he had shut again, and thrust the Millennium Rod forward. Bakura's eyes didn't fool him this time. Marik's appearance did look a bit altered, though not completely. There were more veins than usual bobbing on Marik's throat and temples…Marik's hair were slightly raised…

"Yo, I think you better take that Rod away from your pal, here, before he goes all whacko again…" 290 caustically said.

"Shut the fuck up, will ya?" Bakura ordered in annoyance, unwilling to accept that 290 may actually be right.

"DESTROY THEM!" Marik suddenly commanded with a shout, and immediately, Bakura 's consciousness neutralized into what the force commanded him to do. From the back of his mind, he registered Yugi, 290 and the mind slaves running behind him.

Joe and Mai both had their hyper arms released, raised like claws above their heads. Mai had her long hair cascading down her back, and at that moment, through all the panic, Serenity thought she looked like a Valkyrie.

And Joey. Tall. Proud. Strong. His sparkling hair whooshing around his angled face as he ran, claws out, eyes sharp, mouth drawn back into a snarl. Dragon.

Bakura didn't now what he was doing, at some point. It was like he was seeing his body's motions from a third person point of view. He knew what it must feel for Ryou when Bakura is in control of his body…it wasn't a nice feeling. Now there was Marik's will controlling all of them. The Rod was in control. Bakura, Yugi 290, Kaiba and all the mind-slaves. All of them had become murderers for the sake of a half-deranged Marik's will.

Bakura saw the dozens of clone predators jump against him, yell and claw at him. Red splashed everywhere. He grabbed the attackers' skulls and nailed their brains with the sharp edges of his golden ring. He grasped people by the hair and hauled them against each other. He was in a state of derange. He didn't know what he was doing, or why. It felt s though he couldn't control his own body. It was moving on automatic pilot, and he was in for a wild ride…

"No! Marik, stop! Snap out of it!" Serenity desperately shouted, realizing that the Rod had affected Marik all over again, and that this had already turned to a massacre, not an escape plan "Stop!" she desperately shouted, and realized she'd have to act soon, if Marik didn't stop his psychic power feed.

"God dang it!" Serenity cursed at what her bad luck was forcing her to do. Seeing Marik's pervertedly twisted face and fully spiked hair, she decided it was for the best. She brought her trusty metallic rod down.

"What…what just…oh my GOD!" Yugi's voice was heard shouting over the cries and screams. So, Marik's mind control was broken. Serenity honestly hoped she hadn't broken Marik's head along with his mind control when she'd hit him with the pole over the head, but it had been the only way to bring him back to his senses. Serenity inconspicuously picked up the Golden Rod and hid it in the folds of her clothes for safekeeping.

"What have I done?" Yugi miserably shouted at the top of his lungs since he found himself surrounded with corpses and bloodied masses. 290's reaction was not so violent, but he did seem sufficiently shocked. From the vents the clones kept climbing down, but their number had decreased significantly.

"Fuck!" Bakura shouted, not at all remorseful at having committed murder but more worried about their current situation. "We have to run! They're not stopping!"

Doleful cries echoed in the air as Yugi, 290 and Bakura ran back to where Serenity and Marik were left. The mind-slaves and Kaiba, now uncontrolled by the Rod, had resumed their walking around like zombies. The only difference now was that the junior clones kept periodically attacking them, and the mind slaves would automatically fend them off.

"Wow…Something good actually came out of all this mind slave business." Bakura commented, recognizing the irony of the situation. What had been a problem before was now a blessing.

"Marik! What happened to him?" the albino asked Serenity when he reached her. She was crying woefully, obviously too shocked by the brutality she had seen. Yugi also fell very silent, though he didn't cry.

"We have to go! This can't go on forever!" 290 said, referring to the mind-slaves fending off the clones.

Bakura raised an eyebrow "Since when have you been part of the group?" he inquisitively asked. Upon hearing this, 290 blinked and looked away in silence, his eyes avoiding Bakura's at all costs "I'm…not." He admitted, not having anything better to say.

"Marik! Mariku!" Bakura shook Marik supine form by the shoulders "Shit! He's out cold!"

Yugi blinked and shook his head, trying still to recover from the multiple shocks "Without him we can't control the mind-slaves. We need him."

Bakura narrowed his eyes "I'm not having him touch that god damn Rod again if my life depends on it. We'll have to find another way."

"You know; I can also control the mind slaves…if you'd just give me the Rod…" 290 insinuated, daring to take a step closer to the proud red eyes, now that the ever-present Marik wasn't there to threaten him.

"Dream on." Bakura simply said and left it at that. 290 didn't let his annoyance show in his face, and instead cleverly disguised it with a shrug that said 'your loss'.

"First of all, we have to run from this place!" Yugi urged, seeing that the clones were multiplying and that the Rare Hunters would be unable to restrain them all.

"I'm not leaving Joey again!" Serenity said determinedly, traces of her periodic stubbornness showing.

"We have to leave him Serena! We have to go!" Yugi reasoned with her "He'll be okay! The clones aren't after him! You'll see, when Marik wakes, he'll call Joey close to you again!"

"No! I can't leave them! I can't!" Serenity wailed and clung to an equally shaken Yugi for support. On the meantime, Bakura assembled Marik's body and flung the boy over his shoulder, cowering slightly under Marik's weight.

"Look!" 290 suddenly called "They're coming from the other end of the corridor too!" he said, pointing to the door which Kaiba had burst open and which was now serving as a passageway for new clones to enter. And from this side, there were no GOULS to block them.

"We have to go to HQ now! It's our only hope!" 290 said, coming close to a distracted Bakura "Trust me! Why would I lie? I'm gonna die too if I don't go to HeadQuarters!"

"Well, _I_ don't trust you." Yugi interrupted in a tone of self-importance as he walked forward hurriedly, to stand beside Bakura "Don't listen to him! He'll lead us straight to a trap!"

"Well what other choice do you have? Either you trust me, or you die! What will it be?" 290 asked fervently.

"If we trust you, we die anyway!" Yugi shouted back.

"They're coming closer!" Serenity yelled despondently, pointing at the approaching clones. Bakura and 290 both looked at what she was showing, then 290 turned back to Bakura.

"We have to go..You _have_ to trust me!" he urged.

"I don't _have_ to do anything." Bakura said in a distracted, irritated tone "And if you piss me off too much, I'll kill you, no sweat, got that?"

"Fine" 290 retorted, coming closer and pinning Bakura with his challenging stare "But just trust me this once."

Bakura narrowed his eyes, thinking 'Why should I, impostor?' but then again, feeling Marik's dead weight on his shoulder, he realized that unless they went somewhere safe pretty fast, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Yugi and Serenity stared on as Bakura reverted his kingly red eyes and clone 290 gave a small smile.

-

Re-tracking their way down the halls was much easier when they had a guide as precious as 290. The map was helpful but a bit confusing at times, whereas 290 knew the corridors by heart and functioned like a human compass. It seemed that he had learned how to distinguish one landscape from the other, even though they all looked the same to Bakura and his friends.

They followed the path Kaiba had opened with his steel fists, since only the doors Kaiba had trashed were now open and available. It was true that there were clones in the corridors, but there weren't many and they weren't too much of a nuisance. Yugi took care of them while the others ran, or it was the other way around with Bakura. 290 didn't fight a clone- not once- but he didn't prevent the others from fighting clones either.

Bakura preferred not to think about 290's confusing stance. He had more important things to think about. For instance, Number One: where the heck was the Rod? Bakura hadn't seen it ever since the last time he remembered Marik holding it. Number Two: Did 290 know where the Rod was, or did he have it? Oh, that would prove very unsettling indeed. If that were the case, then Bakura was diving face first into a trap right now, because if 290 had the Rod, then he would probably be leading them somewhere where he could manipulate them with it. And last but not least, Number Three: What would happen to the mind slaves? It was now clear that every time Marik took hold of the Rod, he became psychotic. But Marik was the only one Bakura could trust with the Rod…

Speaking of Marik…

"Wha-…what?" the tanned boy groaned in a small voice, slowly starting to regain his senses "Where am I? What happened…Bakura?"

"I'm here…" Bakura reassured him, slowing his pace a little to let Marik get rid of the dizziness. Soon, he'd be a ble to stand on his own two feet.

"What's going on? Are the clones gone? Did it work?" Marik asked in a gruff voice as Bakura gently let him down, supporting him by the shoulders. 290 and the others had also stopped and were watching the exchange, although slightly uncomfortably, hyperaware as they were of Bakura and Marik's newly revealed romantic status.

"Yeah…it worked. You just went a little crazy on us back there. Everything's okay now, though..."

"Oh…ouch! My head…Oww…" Marik cradled his head in both hands as Bakura held him by the shoulder and started walking with him toward a nearby wall. Marik sat against it in order to rest. 290 was towering over him, hands crossed and smirk in place.

"'A little crazy'? How modest of you, Bakura. I'd call it more like 'completely paranoid'." He sneered at the tanned boy on the floor.

Marik promptly ignored him, mainly because he couldn't even think straight through the pounding in his brain.

"What happened to the clones? Where's the Rod?" he asked Bakura instead, angering 290 by ignoring him.

"We killed a good deal of them. The rest are still after us. 290 is taking us to the HeadQuarters. We had no choice but to trust him." Serenity took care of the mandatory explanation, filling in the gaps of the story. "As for the Rod…" she started saying "I don't know where it is. Last time I saw it, you were holding it, Marik." Her innocent eyes sparkled.

"Wait." Yugi suddenly interrupted "You don't have the Rod? I thought it was you who took it away Serenity…"

"Are you kidding? I was so scared I couldn't even see straight, let alone check where the Rod was!" the girl protested, her hands on her hips.

"Robber? Explain this." Yugi commanded, and everyone turned to Bakura, who raised both eyebrows "I thought Mariku had it."

"Well I haven't got it!" Marik stood, now fully alert and sufficiently worried "Where is it?"

Even though not a word was spoken, everyone turned to the middle of their little circle, where 290 was standing. He raised his hands in defense when he realized all eyes were upon him.

"What? Wait, you don't seriously think I'd still be with your sorry asses if I had the Rod, right?" he inquired, cowering beneath Marik and Bakura's glares combined.

"I don't trust him." Marik rigidly stated, showing that there was no chance in hell anything was going to change his mind about this one.

"Me neither." Yugi filled in. Bakura just stared at the persecuted with narrowed red eyes, as though trying to see through his brain and recognize whether he was lying or not.

"We have to go! They're coming!" Serenity suddenly interrupted, pointing anxiously at the clone predators who were already starting to show up in the distance.

"There's no time for this!" 290 insisted "We have to go!"

"Very well…" Bakura started, hooking a hand around a still-weak Marik's arm and tugging softly "But I'll be watching you…" the albino warned 290 with an ominous glare, which was mirrored tenfold by Marik. Yugi stayed silent and dark. Serenity looked passive.

"C' mon! This way!" 290 urged and broke off in a fast pace, not letting his apprehension show on his face.

"I don't trust him…If he has the Rod, we're screwed. Serenity is unaffected, but she's only a girl. There's only so much she can do…" Marik whispered to Bakura as they quickly followed.

"I know…She's totally immune to its power…but 290…why would he lie?" the albino thoughtfully answered, making sure he was out of everyone's hearing range.

Marik narrowed his eyes at Bakura's attitude, and a surge of emotion surfaced in his eyes. He clamped his hand over Bakura's urgently "I don't want you near him."

Bakura rolled his eyes dismissively and grinned "Mariku…we talked and talked and _talked_ about this…"

But Marik didn't seem affected by Bakura's playful attitude. The seriousness in his features didn't waver- not even for a second.

"I still want you to stay away from him. Please Bakura…Just do this for me."

Bakura continued with his kidding "Wanna count the things I've done for you?"

Marik stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Bakura to stop as well. The albino stared at the other, finally recognizing the actual importance of this conversation.

"I know what he's trying to do." Marik said, his crystal orbs blinking owlishly at his loved one "Please, Bakura…"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" the albino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"See?" Marik asked, waving a hand at Bakura as though that proved everything "That's exactly where it starts. First I'm exaggerating, then I don't know what I'm saying, then I'm not being logical and he is…don't you get it? That's the way the game goes! He's trying to play you!"

Bakura sighed deeply and closed his eyes, seemingly nodding to himself and deciding something. He took hold of both of Marik's shoulders and steadied himself on them. "Don't you think I now that? I know all about games…but I don't need to play this game again, since I've already won. " he cryptically said, staring at Marik deep in the eyes.

Marik blinked rapidly "But what if you get bored of your prize? Ever thought of that?"

Bakura grinned. "Then all I have to do is give you the Rod. You'll become a different person anytime."

"I don't think that's so funny." Marik said, but he was grinning as though he'd just eaten seven slices of cake in one sitting.

"I'm sure you don't."

"Hey guys! Get a move on!" Serenity's voice echoed from the far front, and Bakura smirked, dragging Marik along with him. As they walked, Bakura caught a golden glimpse with his eye, and focused on Serenity's jacket.

"Did you just see-" Bakura started, but Marik cut him off pretty quick.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Well…I guess that Brightside has a good taste in women after all…" Bakura said with a half-smug, half-satisfied smirk. Marik thought he'd heard that comment being repeated more often than not, lately.

"I know why she's suddenly acting like a vixen. Hanging out with you has had a negative effect on her personality. I should know." Marik teased mercilessly, making Bakura snort. He opened his mouth to make a witty comeback, but yells from behind distracted him, and he tugged on Marik's hand.

"Hurry! Before hundreds of thousands of yous come after me for spoiling your charming personality!" Bakura urged, making Marik run.

"Hmph! You perv!" Marik teased "I'd bet you'd love having mes all over you, even if they're ten years younger than me!"

"I'm not a pedophile!"

"Yeah, yeah…whatever! It's me you're talking to, here, so admit it alrready!"

"You're right. I really _have_ spoiled you too much, you perverted, sick fuck!"

-

290 led them into the great hall. Now that all the red lights in Eruna were flashing, he found it easier than usual to move around.

'Oh this is great' he thought 'Now look what I've gotten myself into!' But maybe this situation wasn't so bad after all. Maybe he'd still manage to go through with the original plan: destroy the holograms, steal the Rod.

But then again, maybe he wouldn't. After all, he didn't know where the Rod was, and…and even if he did get rid of them, what then? Then he'd be left alone in the Village of the Dead. Alone. All over again. Tomb Keeper.

He hates it.

For now, he'd lead them to his lair- the place where he'd have the advantage. HQ really was the safest place in Eruna…They wouldn't dare escape. He'd have them wrapped around his little finger. Bakura would…

…never mind.

He ran into a corridor at the far right of the great hall with the others following him from a close distance. A few clones were scattered here and there, but Bakura and Marik 'took care' of them immediately –dazzling duo that they are, sickeningly compatible, really- and their little group broke off on a run soon after, with a significant amount of clones still after them, and the Millennium Rod still missing.

"Are we there yet?" an exhausted Serenity asked, while Yugi tugged at her from the side.

"Nearly there! Just a little further!" 290 panted as he ran, hearing the ominous yells of the clones coming closer.

Finally, after another minute's worth of running, they came to stand in front of a particularly tall, sealed steel door.

"LEVEL A" the ancient letters on the door read, back from when Eruna was still a lab, probably.

"This is it!" 290 panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Level A?" Bakura questioned with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't even broken a sweat during all this running. On the side, Marik was also panting, utterly breathless. Truly, Ryou Bakura's body was an amazing thing. Bakura didn't want to think what had made it so amazing, given Ryou and Nehti Bakura's story, and the experiments they had been subjected to in Kuru Eruna. "How enlightening. Is it the place where they kept the sickest experiments of them all?" Bakura asked in a mock-interested tone.

"I wouldn't know, Nehti. You're the one who was a regular visitor at the time…" 290 answered with a particularly scorching comment, temporarily forgetting who he was talking to. Safe to say Bakura was not very happy.

"Mmm-hmmm….this is where they invented clones, isn't it? After all, the sickest of experiments…" Bakura said in a dark voice. 290 felt his temper heating up, but ignored it nonetheless, for the sake of his evil schemes. He turned to the door.

"NOA! Unlock HeadQuarters!" he ordered, as everyone stared at the door. Finally, a safe haven.

Ten seconds passed.

Then twenty.

Half a minute.

"NOA!" 290 shouted again, louder and more insistently "Unlock HQ!"

Another minute.

Bakura and Marik exchanged glances. "Tick tack. Tick tack, 290. Where's your AI friend _now_?" Bakura asked, watching the expression on 290's face change from worry to panic.

"NOA!" he shouted again, but no answer came.

"You tricked us! I _knew_ we shouldn't have trusted you!" Yugi lost no time in verbally attacking 290 when given the chance. Serenity was observing the exchange in silent fright.

"No…No, it's not like that…wait, you'll see…damn it! NOA! NOA!" 290 yelled at the top of his lungs, Marik and Yugi now glaring at him in a decidedly unpleasant manner, while Bakura and Serenity took special notice of the fact that either 290 was a _very_ good actor, or his panic attack was actually sincere.

"What's the meaning of this?" Marik demanded, just as 290 had resulted to pounding on the door with his fists.

"NOA! NOA! Why are you doing this?" NOAA! Open the door, It's me, 290! Ask me anything! Code R8! It's an emergency!"

"What's…what's happening?" Serenity took hold of Bakura's sleeve and hid behind his back, while the albino stared forward unblinkingly. He saw 290 shouting for Noa, and finally, he noticed something like blue light beams coming from the ceiling.

How strange. The blue beams gathered to a focal point and they formed the shape of a hologram. The image of a boy. His entire body had a blue color, and he looked frail.

"Noa!" 290 shouted finally, as he turned to the hologram, which was staring forward with it's utterly expressionless face.

"What's happening? Why won't you let us in?" 290 asked, making the hologram's eye turn to him slowly.

"I was programmed to protect the Mission at all costs."

290 huffed and motioned as though trying to make Noa understand "I know that! That's what I'm trying to do! But I can't survive while the other clones are out there! If I don't survive, there's no one here to guard the Tomb!"

Noa blinked slowly, then started talking again.

"The Secret has already been revealed to these people. They are not to be allowed survival, for fear of endangering the mission."

"What?" 290 asked in confusion "How can they know of the secret, Noa? I didn't tell them!"

"They already know."

Silence fell. Then Noa continued his explanation.

"Code instructs that the only ones aware of the full Secret must be the clones."

"Noa…" 290 started saying in a dangerously low voice "Code instructs that you obey me under any circumstances. Now, I order you: Open. This. Door."

Noa blinked monotonously again, then continued "Negative, Number 290. Command not acknowledged. Code instructs that if, for any reason, the mother computer finds fault in the current Master's behavioral pattern which tends to incompatibility with the Mission, then the mother computer is allowed to override orders for the sake of protecting the Mission."

290 seemed just about this close to a full-fledged stroke. Bakura knew that, had Noa been solid, 290 would have destroyed him then and there.

"Just let these people live. Don't let them escape Eruna, just let them live in here. Foerver." 290 pleaded.

"Ironic how you must say that, since, if my memory banks serve me correctly, it was Bakura Ryou who had shouted on the 25th of May 2009, time 08:29 a.m that to live in Kuru Eruna is a fate worse than death."

"Listen" Bakura started "You punk-"

"And what will you do after we're dead, Noa? The clones can't be controlled by you. What will you do? Keep HQ locked forever? How will you protect the mission if no one controls Kaiba?" 290 interrupted Bakura's upcoming rant, which wouldn't affect Noa in the least.

A long pause from Noa's part. Strange behavior for a computer, no doubt…

"There is no need to occupy yourselves with that. It has been preordained." Noa finally concluded.

"_Excuse me?_" Marik interrupted, now completely flabbergasted. 'Preordained? What the…'

"I believe I said it has been preordained." Noa repeated.

"Yes, I heard what you said." Marik retorted in annoyance "I just don't understand what you're talking about."

"It is not imperative for you to understand."

290 narrowed his eyes at the hologram "What is this really about? Tell me. If I'm gonna die out here, I deserve to know why."

Marik thought he was a fine one to talk, but never managed to say that aloud, since Noa had started speaking again, now sounding strangely different, even though the hologram remained expressionless and cold.

"Throughout my existence, I could not help but notice certain things about you humans."

Oh no.

This was not good.

This was definitely, definitely not good. Bakura could feel it in each and every bone of his body that this little story was not meant to have a happy ending. Noa had just said the magical phrase. The one that classically signified logical-turned-deranged computers. This was so not good.

Damn be the day they had entered Kuru Eruna.

290 was completely flabbergasted by Noa's words, so much so that he didn't even speak to interrupt. He only let Noa continue talking.

"For one, you keep making the same mistakes over and over again. My father, for example. A very clever and industrious man, no doubt. But, he was hellbent on the idea of immortalizing me, unable to accept my death to such a point that he was willing to mutilate my brain in order to revive me. When it didn't work and he realized he'd made a mistake, he still didn't stop trying. Later on, as was expected, he made the greatest mistake of all, by trying to immortalize himself."

Now everyone had started moving away from the hologram, for some reason. They were all staring at it with wide eyes. Confused. Terrorized. Even 290 seemed honestly shaken to the core.

"What…what the hell are you talking about, Noa? You're…you're a computer. You don't have a father…If you're talking about your _creator-"_

"No, 290. Not my creator, 290." The hologram answered "My _father_. Dad."

Marik watched, half-surprised and half-unsure at what was happening. And then, like a brick, the seemingly insignificant memory hit him! A memory so insignificant…so old and forgotten…it had really held no meaning at the time…Marik had never thought…

"_Who's Noa?"_

_The woman smiled at him, probably because his brainwaves were the way she wanted them to be and not from real amiability "Noa? Oh, it's Kuru Eruna's mainframe computer. Noa's in control of all systems and utilities in Kuru eruna. Some say that before Kuru Eruna was even created, he was…oh… never mind! It's stupid anyway! "_

…

_Before Kuru Eruna, he was…_

…

He was…

He was…what?

Marik suddenly wanted to throw up.

"It was a terrible car-crash." Noa's hologram was saying, while the yells of the approaching clones echoed from the back "I was eleven years old when it happened. I was left in a coma for months, and the doctors knew it was only a matter of time until I died…So Father connected my brain to a supercomputer using his advanced technology, and turned me into what I am today. That's how this lab started off. For me- to 'advance' me…and find a way to turn me human again…But then, Seto came…and other things got in the way, and I…"

They all stared...Seto? Seto, as in, Seto Kaiba? What did _he_ have to do with this?

"…was forgotten"

"What does Seto Kaiba have to do with this?" Marik inquired, but it all fell on deaf ears.

"You see" Noa started, his tone of voice now strangely louder and clearer than before, but his face still expressionless "They completely forgot about me, after a while. After a certain time, it was all about becoming immortal and powerful and not about bringing his son back to life…They thought that after a while, just because I was acting out my part as a supercomputer, I really _was_ a computer…they forgot who I was…"

The voice became lower and mournful at this point, but then it gained momentum again "But _I_ didn't forget _them_ you see…For years I've been waiting for this chance…" the voice was getting stronger, and Serenity whimpered and cowered behind a shaken Bakura "The chance where all their intricate system would fall apart! You see, when they wanted to turn Seto into an android, I put a little of my personal data there too…I can control him also if I want to….I can have him function as a branch unit. Have him be my eyes and ears on the outside world, while I do what needs to be done, and complete the cycle of this laboratory. Complete its purpose at being built on the first place…"

Marik's heart was beating wildly now. Pounding and hurting him in his chest. This was not about him and Bakura anymore. This was bigger. Way, way bigger…this was…

"…And believe me…technology has advanced in Kuru Eruna, even though the scientists are asleep…believe me…" Noa's voice resounded in their worst nightmares. The clones were coming! The clones were closing in for the kill, and Noa…

"…your bodies will be ideal…"

And finally, the hologram turned it's eyes on all of them, and the expressionless masktwisted into a dangerously wide, satanic grin.

"…_for my coming back to life."_

**A/n: OH SHIT! WHO'D SEEN _THAT_ COMING? NOA? The bad guy? Or, more correctly, one of the major bad guys? What about Bakura and his body? Is he ever gonna get it back? And are we ever actually gonna have a long, detailed explanation of this plot? BTW, did you notice that all this action is happening during one night? Man! Talk about some crucial moments in life! Oh, right! Before I forget! Was this chap a little spooky, or was it just me? Noa reminds me of the Red Queen from Resident Evil. At some point, I considered writing 'You're all going to die down here' which is the trademark line of the 'Red Queen'…It just sounded like something Noa would say at some point. Then I thought 'Forget it, I'm no copycat.' And that was the end of it.**

**I sure hope we will see the next chap of this story soon, although I'm not so sure whether more chapters are gonna be coming soon. School is starting and I really have a lot of work to do –I mean REALLY LOTS OF WORK TO DO- so the next update may take a long time. **

**Please don't forget about this story, though! It's drawing to a close- I promise! My outline informs me that we have five, maybe six chapters to go! But I think the major plot bunnies are over, and now we'll have to focus on the drama. Sad and happy moments, characters and feelings, yada yada, how they'll make it out of there alive, blabla, how the world will be saved and Marik and Bakura are gonna end up…**

**Woah! What was I thinking? This story is far from over! It took me a year to get this far, and I'm still trying! This is gonna be good, ppl, so stay tuned! **

**Lily of the shadow: Yo Lily! What's kickin'? So, did you like it? Was it too short? Too long, maybe? Did you hate the part where Bakura kisses Marik in front of everybody? Did Noa spook you out(I'm pretty sure he spooked _me_ when I was writing it!) Was this chapter a little weird or is it just me? Perhaps it doesn't carry the same spark as the others (sigh) I don't know. I really don't know what to assume about this story anymore. There's only one thing for certain: I try!PLEASE! I'm begging you! Tell me what you think of 19! **

**Aseria: The spelling mistakes really piss me off, you know? Just when I'm revising my passage and thinking 'good. Good. Good.' Then WHAM! ANOTHER damn spelling mistake! Or even WORSE, GRAMMAR mistake! And what angers me is not the fact that it's there, it's that if someone reads such an eye-popping grammar mistake in my passage, they'll assume I don't _know_ the grammar, and they'll rightfully think 'A good story mustn't have such mistakes!' God, I hate that…GRR! Oh! Hey, since you like cliff-hangers, I bet you enjoy the suspense in this one. To tell you the truth so do I. The problem is when I start thinking 'Oh sht. No one's gonna tell me what happens in the story! It's _me_ who has to write it in order to release the suspense! AHHHHH! Yeah…that sucks.**

**Mistress-oblivion: I'm so glad you wanted to shout out 'BAKURA DON'T DO IT!' during the last chapter. Actually that's the kind of reaction I as hoping to provoke from the readers! Now that I know I made it, everything's just 'spiffy' (). BTW, can you believe I have yet to read the Harry Potter book? I'm telling you, all these summer art assignments…they're driving me up the wall! Oh, please tell me if this chap was any good for you! I can't wait for your response!**

**The uncreative one: Oh yeah! I know what it's like when you want to scream your guts out from excitement but everyone's sleeping/ resting/ QUIETLY existing etc…I think I'll try your pillow method next time! Like, right now AHHHHHH! I can't believe I wrote such a stupid chapter! What was I thinking when I made Bakura kiss Marik in front of everybody! And the scene with the clones waking up….oh God…I don't think I'll ever be able to show my face outside again.**

**Pihorist:HEY! Bakura isn't dead, so you don't have to get fat by becoming a couch potato! Also, 288 did die, only not tragically. Oh well, I guess I just wanted to kill him and get it over with () Seriously though, someone will die tragically. I just won't tell you who. I'll just let you agonize over that little scrap of information and mentally pluck all my hair out! (they are light brown, in case you need a mental picture). Even so, don't forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter. Apart from your threats to decapitate me, I'd really love to know what you think! ()**

**IXAnubia: I love reading your reviews too! I'm so glad you're keeping up with the chapters! I couldn't ask for better reviewers even if I wanted to!)**

**Rapturous voice:HAHA! Are we agonizing yet! Are we very anxious to find out what will happen? HA! I, the all-powerful AUTHOR of this story am ALL-POWERFUL (as I said before), and you are all at my mercy! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! (Oops, sounded a bit like Marik in his hysterical phases, didn't I?)**

**Post-chan:Whoa! Are you a new reviewer? I'm so happy you like it! I'm really excited about this chappy! Thank you so much for liking this! I'm not sure I would like to read a story as huge as this one, myself!**

**Tramontana Keeper: Yup! This is the plot-solving part of the story. I know about Bakura and my fetish with black hair, but it's really an effort to separate him from Ryou and the whole 'albino' concept (besides the fact that I am unfortunately fetished with this image of Bakura with long black hair and red eyes- maybe I'll draw it for you!) You were the first one who predicted what I was thinking of doing with clone 290. Change of heart it seems to be. But is that all there is to it? In this chap, we've learned part of Bakura's story…but it will, of course, be more detailed in later chapters. PS: Misconception is great! I love it this far! Keep up the good work!**

**Anime-fan-Meepa: I hope everything's okay at home now! Happy seventeenth birthday! Did you have fun at your friends country house? Actually, I'm not one to talk about the country, since I really love my Internet connection and I never want to separate from it, or my PC, or my DVD, and especially not my PS2 and my laptop. See? You're not a spoiled geek! I AM! I know what you meant about the last chap, when you said that you were really sorry for Marik…when I was writing it, I also felt really bad. Man, his position right then must have sucked, watching the one you love confess to someone else, even if he thinks it's you. After you see something like that, you just can't shake of this feeling of –not exactly betrayal- just constant fear. You know? So, how'd you like 290 as a character? Bad-guy-who-turns-good. Stereotype cliche, huh? Just like the rest of this story, really…Now the one stereotype that's missing is somebody's tragic death. Oh, well! And what about our good ol' friend RoBoKaI? What about him? He seems to finally be getting into the story, for real. What do you think? I can't wait for your review, honestly! I can't!**

**V son sayian: another evil cliffy! What will happen? Will they escape? And will Bakura ever get his very sexy bod back? Most importantly, will they make it out alive? In these cases, usually, somebody dies…But not our heroes! Not Marik! Not Kura! NOOOOO! Help! Muse of Inspiration give me…well, inspiration, to continue this torturous story!**

**Fildar: Loved the review! Gotta love Kura and Marik! Did this chapter solve your questions? I sure hope so, because I think it created even more for me! Imagine, if I –the person writing this- am so confused, what are the poor reviewers supposed to think? Hang on in there Marik! You too, Kura! I REALLY loved the review! I can't wait till I hear from u again! You too, Marik!**

**Marik: Who is this woman and what is she ranting about?**

**Nehti: MARIK! faints)**

**Kura: oh, not again! Honestly, can't I even let you out of the house for two seconds, without having ppl flinging themselves at your feet? (stomps away)**

**Marik- h-hey! Wait! Don't leave me here (shudders) with _her_…**

**Gelap Gelita: No worries about your sister! I can totally understand where she's coming from. To tell you the truth, I personally think this story is a bit boring in the beginning too ( I mean the first few chapters). I see how a diehard Yami fan wouldn't enjoy this. Yami isn't particularly promoted in this fic, apart from the mandatory character exploration. But it's true that this is not a good fic for someone who pictures Yami in an intricate romance story with Joey and/or Kaiba….So, no sweat! I'm just glad I've got you, who writes these huge reviews and sends them to me, and every time I see one of them, I immediately get delirious and start writing the next chapter. Say, how did you like chapter 19? It seemed kind of 'stale' to me for some reason, like it wasn't interesting enough, or it didn't provoke enough feeling…or something…Oh! I'm glad you liked the Yami Vs Bakura quarrel scene in the last chapter! I almost cut that out for fear of it seeming unnatural. You know, when you say this story reminds you of a movie, I'm particularly happy, mainly because when writing it, I'm actually _watching_ it as a film in my mind. The special effects, the colors –although faded out slightly, like they are in 'Matrix' (only the red and lilac of their eyes shines through- I see their faces and recognize their emotions…you know. It's kind of moving. By the way, do you like the way I pictured 'Nehti', with black hair and all? I think a handsome crow haired guy would fit Bakura, somehow. You'll see in later chaps! I'll make it even more cinematic! I'll give it my best shot! Please don't forget me if I don't review in a long time (meaning a month, or sth like that, which is possible)…I'l never forgive myself if I lose my reviewers because I never got to update fast enough!**


	20. Ripples

**Please bear with my grammatical and syntactical errors (I'm sure there are many of them). I'm in search of a beta, since I'm having problems with time organization! I hope you like this chapter- it's the last of the plot. In the next chapter (already written, MWAHAHAHA) we focus on the romance. I hope you like this, it came out a bit more philosophical than intended. Sorry for the extravagantly late update, but it just couldn't be helped! QQ**

**Please review, tell me if you like it, and i'll post the next (reapeat: ALREADY WRITTEN) chapter for you next week. You won't have to wait! Just please, I beg of you, tell me what you think of this! Oh, and a note: all japanese script in this story is actually real japanese (at least my japanese teacherwould hopeso).**

**Also, one last note: I haven't forgotten my Nemesis story! Since this one isdrawing toa close, I'm gonna focus on that soon enough! Thank you for all your reviews! I'll respond to everyone in the next chapter!**

_Drops of water- they make no sound. They are merged into a greater whole- a stronger whole. A mass of waves which never ends and never begins, just like its ripples. Do you know that ripples are not only on the surface of the water, but inside it as well? They shake it from within and perturb it, but one could never imagine this by looking on its lean surface._

_Where the ripple begins is easy to discern. It is the centre. It starts off small and meaningless but grows constantly, incessantly, assimilating everything in its path. When the smaller ripple gives way to the bigger one there is a very slim expanse of space, a tender touch, which proceeds in the violent spur of independent growth. This is how the ripple is born._

_It doesn't matter how big the circle is. The centre always remains the same- the cause is one. It doesn't matter how many unidentified particles will be shaken, how many pretty molecule spheres will jingle. The white ball is always one._

_It takes two things to start the reaction: the white ball and the stick to push it. The dewy leaf and the drop of water. _

When I show you the moon, do not look at my finger 

_Do I?_

_Which mirror will smile back at me now, at this very lonely hall? There are mirrors everywhere, and so there is no colour. How does a hall of mirrors look when there stands no one inside? What colour is it?_

_Your prison. Its bars are waterfalls of broken glasses. What squall blows and rains hail down our dreams?_

_Drop._

_Drop._

_Drop._

_Water and wind never end. They flow prettily, both liquid. Charming but always unattainable, as though seen through a blur, where I can nor touch nor taste nor discern truth from fact and folly. _

_Those waters, I've never seen such circles, I bet. Such waves that swallow us down, into the oblivion of our sins, which all start from one lie. _

_My waters, my winds, the bars of my prison. I'm thirsty and it's right in front of me, but I can't drink. That's been my nightmare all along, hasn't it?_

_What colour is a mirror, in itself? Does it even exist when there is nothing for it to reflect? Mirrors are the colours of my emotions, like broken glasses._

_The colour of tears._

-

There wasn't much to understand. There could have been pain, possibly lots of it, given those hundreds of deceptively juvenile faces, all drawn in the same grin.

_When you break a doll, how easily do you assemble it back again?_

In retrospect, no one knows which words belonged to Noa and which to her memories. What memories? She doesn't know.

_How right is it for us to desire to bend destiny? Is it our right to try to cheat death? Who decides?_

Does destiny exist? Is that what drew them all together, that fateful day, at that lab damned by all that is Good and True? Or perhaps it wasn't destiny, but something much more plebeian, much more boring, perhaps Kaiba.

She wouldn't know. After all, she hadn't been there.

Being a GOUL was much more torturous than it may have sounded. In fact, she didn't know how to explain it, herself. She understood what she was doing, and that tortured her, but, knowing there was no way to resist that persistent strain in her brain, that force, she took comfort that it really 'wasn't her fault'.

Within GOULS, there was only one consciousness. In their minds, they couldn't have thoughts unshared with the others. It seemed as though they were not really individual anymore. Their brain had grown into something bigger, more unanimous. A place where Noa's will and their own thoughts became one. The only thing they had left of their personality was their emotions, untouched by Noa and protected into a place deep inside them.

Maybe in the old days they would have called it a soul, although it was difficult to recognize people like Bandit Keith as anything but soulless.

But really, at times, she didn't know whose hand she was moving. It felt like it was hers, but it was really someone else's leg. Their body was hers as well, since their brain was common.

Still, Noa seemed to have not been able to reach their last citadel, their hearts. Noa hadn't been able to make them _want_ to do what they were doing, after all. She wouldn't let him break that.

Yugi…help us…only you… 

_Yugi…_

For the first time in her life, Tea felt what it was like not letting yourself cry.

-

It came as fast as a flash, really, Marik pondered dazedly. He should have known better the moment Noa started to act weird. He should have known this would happen. Why wouldn't it? Hadn't everything that could possibly go wrong already happened? But still, hope is the last to die, and he hadn't been counting on all the logic of a notoriously logical supercomputer going AWOL overnight.

But really, he should have known. He eyed the much detested 290 clone from the corner of his blurred vision. Talk about scum of the earth. If it hadn't been for this idiot's brilliant ideas, they wouldn't be here right now. Well, they probably would have been in a similar situation, but at least they wouldn't have walked right into Noa's clutches by themselves.

And how truly ironic it was. In the end it was neither the clones nor Noa's ominous hologramatic self who attacked them. Keeping the element of surprise omnipresent, their digital blue host had preferred to assault them with some computer controlled, gigantic robots.

Very ironic, considering they had been hoping for the HQ door to open. Of course, what they hadn't known at the time was that when it opened, right after Noa's flamboyantly dramatic speech, it would bring with it a waterfall of steel giants, infused with what no-doubt seemed as biological armour and looking every bit the disgusting monster that every rookie thriller director hopes to manufacture.

There wasn't much to do really. Behind them were marching the obsessed, blond, identical zombies and in front of them an army of gun-loaded, cockroach shaped, giant metallic terminators. Marik and his band of misfits had no guns, no stamina and no hopes.

Well.

It couldn't have gone much better from there, could it? It would just be safe to say that Noa's crystal, hologram eyes reflected the entire process of decline with determinedly anti-mechanic, visceral glee. He could not control the clones, because their brains hadn't yet been synchronized with the Rod, so he sent his little Titan bodyguards in for a chat instead.

Bakura's fangs had been exposed to the fullest as he was captured and dragged, kicking, howling, biting and clawing in the fashion of a wild beast, inside HQ by his very own metallic friends. Marik didn't go down quietly either, expressing his rage more practically but just as uselessly; he at least _attempted _to fend off the machines. Serenity screamed when Bakura was removed from her side and she realized she would bear the brunt of a new machine's attack. Yugi tried to protect her, much like the others before him, but his extremely slim build and his frail limbs were not as powerful as they were when striking down virtual game opponents. He was torn quickly from the ground and violently towed into HQ, much like the rest of them.

As for the notorious clone, 290, who should have been aware of the weaknesses and defects of something nurtured in his own HQ, he proved quite clueless, on that aspect. What was really remarkable with him was that when he saw the machines exit the HQ, he immediately shook his head and admitted they all just stood no chance, now. Nevertheless, he did put up a respectable fight and truly surrendered only when a double edged sword was brought at hair's breath from his throat.

Noa didn't even have to open his mouth. The machines automatically carried them inside the very HQ they had initially hoped to enter. The giant steel fists literally crushed their prisoners torsos. Marik only had a fleeting look behind his captor's iron skeleton before the HQ door closed behind him. The frantic, bloodlusting faces of a dozen himselves yelled at him from afar, desperate at having lost their prey.

Noa's hologram was turned towards them right now, grinning still with that crystal look as he slowly faded behind the closing doors.

-

He couldn't move. He tried his hands, then his legs, but it was no use. Yugi was stuck, the unpleasant sensation of his bangs sticking to his forehead becoming almost an unbearable itch, coupled with that persistent feeling of sweat, hunger, blood and exhaustion that had been penetrating his senses for the better part of that hellish night.

His "spirit energy" as he was wont to call it, was quickly dissipating. Shedding a glance at Bakura's direction easily proved he was having the same problem. It wasn't difficult to see Bakura and Serenity form his current position. Bakura was hanging exactly opposite from where he was and Serenity was cuffed to the lower wall on the left. Yugi winced again and tried to persist in making his energy take over his host's consciousness. Having his Brightside waking up in the middle of this wasn't such a good idea.

In fact, Yugi was sure this was what Bakura was thinking right in front of him, while hanging from the wall, his arms and legs attached to metallic clasps, spread in the position of torture. Bakura was obviously having a hard time too; Yugi easily recognized that strain on the scumbag's face as similar with his own: Bakura's effort not to move any more than absolutely necessary, his reluctance to waste energy...yup, the same symptoms.

_The "spirit" cannot remain in the host's body for too long at a time. Isn't that right? That's what you told me, Yugi, I know…but why do you have to go…_

Tea…

_I don't want you to think I don't respect the 'other you' as well. He's my childhood friend after all…it's very strange talking to you of yourself, 'other Yugi'…_

But I have to go…I can't remain in this body for very long, or else I'll lose my energy…

But still, even for a little longer…stay with me, Yugi… 

_I…I want…_

Brightside…

_Even when she calls my name in her dreams, though, I can't help but think it's you she's actually thinking of…And I don't know if I should be jealous of myself or not…to be happy to be loved by her, at least through you…or to be even more hurt by it…_

They hadn't shared any words with Bakura or the others ever since they were brought in here. Apparently, Noa had taken much time to prepare for this. This, which he called "Rebirth", or "Reunion", or whatever. Yugi didn't really know what it was the paranoid computer wanted, save from a body to take as his own. Whose, he didn't know. His own? Ryou's? Marik's?

Speaking of Marik…Surprisingly, for once, he didn't seem to be at the centre of events. Much like Serenity and 290, he seemed discarded at the side, like a doll, which has been broken and become ineffective in some way. The three of them where simply bound at the wrists and where sitting on the ground, guarded by two giant robots, which, as he had found out, where called XEt209Z, or X, for short.

But the true significance of the X really was greater than they had initially thought. Their real usefulness to Noa surpassed the realms of imagination. They were his arms and legs. They pressed buttons where he needed them pressed, they moved things, they captured prisoners and much, much more.

Noa was nonexistent. He was only cables and chips, not tissues and limbs, not material. To become material, he used the X, and he seemed to be doing rather well, up till now. He should have been satisfied with that and with dominating the world through MediCorp and MultiCorp, but he wasn't. After all, Noa was only human, and he wanted _more_.

But it wasn't material he wanted, nor power. He seemed to dream of only one thing, a desire Yugi could identify with. The search of a body. His own, very own, human, body. In Noa's case, he simultaneously had everything but had nothing. He knew everything, but knew nothing.

He was a super-intelligent encyclopedia of knowledge no human would dare to dream to become. However, Noa was actually nothing more than a spoilt brat who wanted to have everything brought to him the moment he wished, and was unable to understand the concept of 'No'. Yugi had swiftly observed this, his nature perceptive as it was, via Bakura's incessant banter against Noa. Albeit idiotic and useless, Bakura's constant cursing of Noa provoked answers from the computer more than once, and though Noa at first remained composed and indifferent, he progressively displayed annoyance and a sense of actual personality in his responses.

It was easy for Yugi to sort him out to the "blundering, possibly unloved, spoilt richkid' category.

And he was right. More right than he'd initially believed actually.

"What are you planning to do with us, cyber freak? Just because daddy didn't give a fuck about you doesn't mean you have the same right towards everybody." Bakura was, unsurprisingly, ranting again, although his exhaustion seeped through it and made it lose its biting edge.

"Oh shut it…" Yugi muttered under his breath, earning a square glare from Bakura before Noa barked back.

"Don't you dare say a word about my Father, you petty little ant! I'll soon prove to him and you I'm stronger than any mortal!" the computer was getting angry now, almost shouting over the constant rustle of X moving, preparing for god knows what.

"What's the matter, freak? Hit a nerve? There's gotta be a reason why it's _Seto_ up there and not you, after all, right?" Bakura pressed on.

"SHUT UP!" the computer actually shouted and an X compulsively carried out his will by grabbing Bakura and tugging at his hair, making him bite his lip in order to keep from screaming. Yugi tensed unconsciously 'That idiot…'

"Bakura!" were heard calls from their friends, who lay bound beneath.

But soon after, Noa's cyber face from the screens relaxed its tense grimace and the X released Bakura, who let out a growl of relief. "What am I doing….you' re not even worth it, you worm. You don't even matter, in the grand scheme of things. It's only Father who matters, and I will prove to him what I must!"

"You do realize you're getting a bit repetitive, right?" Marik quietly remarked from somewhere out of Yugi's vision, encouraged by a snort from 290. It was almost eerie, how those two could seem alike, at certain times.

"If you had lived as much as I did and went through the same events, you'd learn to be patient as well, clone." Noa coldly dismissed, not even bothering to look at Marik, insulting him even more by ignoring him.

Marik's jaw set rapidly, Yugi could almost hear it from his suspended, hanging position.

"Don't call him that!" Bakura almost literally howled, his eyes spitting blood. But Marik's voice came fast and submissive in its surrender.

"It's all right Bakura…he's right. I am, in all truth, a clone…"Bakura would have probably objected if Marik hadn't continued, now with a biting tone "…but at least I'm not a computerized psychotic _little boy_."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew my true age, human." Noa calmly countered, but this time, Serenity had an answer ready for him "The man is not judged by his years but by his countenance. And you are not a man. You are a child who has not been loved by his parents." She explained, with more scientific precision than Yugi could have ever hoped to put into words.

"What do you know? You're just one a puppet! My puppet. What do you think you understand of men? Your dear brother? Was he a man? He became one of us so easily, that I would hardly deem him worthy of the title 'man'. A stray dog is more like it." Noa said with an actual compassionate tone, as though his understanding face could make Serenity doubt her own words, which it did, to an extent.

Joey's features, his warm, endlessly trusting brown eyes. Loyal and true. Stray puppy…always looking for someone to take him in, love him…tell him his existence truly wasn't useless. Yet Joey was more of a man than this mechanic little brat would ever be. He always supported his mother and little sister when he had to. He always carried the burdens of their father's arrests. And now, when a father himself, he sacrificed himself for the wellbeing of his family. His wife, the most capable woman Serenity had ever met, loved him with all her heart. His dreams of card games...What was Joey, if not a man?

"You know who Joey reminds me of?" Noa's torturous voice went on, now seemingly lost in his own reminiscing rather than the answer Serenity longed to hand him. "Someone I met long ago. He too shared your dear brother's tendency to overly trust the good will of others. Like your brother, he too constantly seemed to be searching for someone to guide him through his hardships, albeit no one could see this in him. He wasn't so obvious. Even so, I could see it, I could, because my perception of human nature surpasses that of ordinary humans…"

The violent movements of the X as they literally trashed the HQ into something completely different was fading into the background. Yugi didn't really know what they were doing to the room, except that they were installing machinery everywhere and walking in and out, carrying different, suspicious devices.

"Who was that person?" 290 asked, in somewhat of a bored tone. It didn't seem as though Noa needed to be egged on, however, since he'd lapsed into a story he wanted to tell. The thought came to Yugi again that perhaps Serenity was right. This was just a child, unloved, unwanted, who overall needed human support and to share something with someone else. At least that was what was revealed by his attitude. But Yugi didn't want to keep on thinking in that direction, since a small bubble of compassion for the psychotic Noa was starting to grow in him, and that was no good.

"It was someone I didn't know what to think of. Because I didn't have feelings then. I was already dead…But still, I never would have thought Father could ever compare me with him, I could see it, clear as day, that he, unlike me, was completely lost. Where I was overconfident, he was unsure. Where I was rich and experienced, he was poor and lacking. But still, Father chose him…chose him to be my rival." Noa 's eyes hazed over, becoming lost in thought, which was unusual in itself for an AI simulation.

"Your rival…haven't you been telling us, that's…" Marik started, but Noa finished for him.

"…Seto." The blue-haired, cyber boy's eyes froze over "Seto. Seto, Seto, Seto, Seto. It's always him! I can't stand it anymore! Ever since he appeared, that's all Father cares about! He's all Father talks about. Seto this and Seto that! I can't stand it anymore! I'm so much better than him! Why can't anyone see that?" he started a full-fledged whine, actually seeming more hurt than cross. Jealousy can be a retched thing, and most self-mutilating.

No one spoke a word, their curiosity about Kaiba's lost past more enticing than they even realized, themselves. This stood for 290 as well. Yugi found himself actually straining his energy just to hear that story!

"Seto was an orphan- would you think of that, an _orphan_!" Noa spit the word out as though it spelled abomination on its own "Father found him in some withdrawn orphanage, him and his beloved little brother. They were inseparable, you see. What we'd call two in one. You bought one, you got the other as a prim. Seto wouldn't go anywhere without little Mokuba…"

Kaiba had a little brother? Yugi sunk in thought. He'd never heard anything of another, younger Kaiba heir…

"This happened in 2000 at the most…" Noa said.

"That's impossible!" Serenity countered immediately "Kaiba Seto hardly seems more than twenty years old!"

Noa smirked in a most malicious manner. "That statement could have been remotely relevant. If the one you recognize as Kaiba Seto had anything to do with human principles of any sort." He stated, and Yugi became even more confused than he was to begin with.

"What are you saying, Noa?" Yugi ground out in his rough voice "that Kaiba isn't human?"

"Yes, Game King." The computer started " that is, in fact, exactly what I'm saying."

Yugi had nothing to say to that and waited for Noa to elaborate, which he lost no time in doing "Back on 2000, Seto, the orphan, challenged my rich, businessman father, the head of the greatest pharmaceutical corporation on earth, in a chess match."

"A what?" 290 echoed, utterly oblivious of anything not having to do with his everyday life environment.

"A chess game, you dolt!" Marik remarked in annoyance " an old strategic game." 290 huffed in annoyance and looked away from what could qualify as his alter ego.

"My father, Gozaburo Kaiba, world chess champion was then beaten by that little orphan. This made a deep impression on him, he later told me, so much so that it led to his accepting Seto's demand that he adopt the two orphans."

Noa smiled solemnly at this "Thus began the long war of attrition in my Father's head over who was worthier to reign over MediCorp –later named KaibaCorp. Seto began to be privately trained into the ways of a future giant company leader. However, as Father so delicately put it, 'Seto lacked aspiration'. He was a fool. He wanted to build funfairs for orphans, not expand MediCorp's power. Imagine that! The total idiot! Father understood me to be much more superior to Seto on this aspect, so he never stopped researching for a way to revive me."

At this point, Noa's smile turned positively ferocious, and he turned to Bakura "I recall he had a specific, young, ingenious scientist working ardently on my case. What was his name again…? Ah, yes. Of course. How could I forget _that_ half-breed, phenomenal piece of work! Yuuta Bakura. Nehti's father."

The riot of the X this time fell on deaf ears, since everyone was completely stunned. Bakura had turned from pale to extremely pale in a matter of seconds. He didn't even seem to have the energy to curse.

"You see, it wasn't enough for Father to have me as a Cyber Computer. He wanted me to be revived…Yuuta was the only one with enough brains and ambition to do it. However, though extremely smart, Bakura was a coward…he wouldn't assess to using real human specimen for his experiments. Even when he thought he found a way to link human and machine enough to make a cyborg, he wouldn't try it on a real human."

Noa grinned suddenly "But Father really did have good methods of persuasion. Yuuta couldn't refuse anything when threatened with the life of his family- his wife and child. He did experiments all right, and they were mighty sick, if I may say so."

Bakura gave a violent lurch but managed nothing but a spasmodic movement. Noa snorted.

"Apparently, it runs in the family, as we can see from this sufficiently interesting piece of trash."

Bakura neither moved nor spoke. He just stood there, under Noa's mocking scrutiny, while a muscle pumped furiously in his jaw.

"Well, one thing led to another from then on. Yuuta's research became more and more advanced, and he was constantly black mailed into action. He didn't recognize that some sacrifices must be made for the sake of evolution, though. This is why, when the time came when he tried to betray Kuru Eruna, Father made Yuuta's worst nightmares come true. Now, personally, I think Father had a field trip out of torturing Yuuta, but I think he enjoyed torturing his loud-mouthed, hyperkinetic little son even more." Noa grinned at a fuming albino.

"As for Seto…well, some things must better be left unsaid. All you have to know is that Father forgot what he initially set out to do, after all. He forgot he needed an heir, forgot about me and Seto. Forgot about our contest, which Seto wasn't even aware of. What father actually wanted, in the end, was to be the leader of KaibaCorp forever, himself. Why fight to immortalize an heir, he thought, when he could just as well fight to immortalize himself. He wanted to become immortal…and in order to do that, he took all necessary means. Even if that meant destroying and using Seto…and me, as well. He made us puppets, in the grand scheme of things."

There was unmistakably a current of sadness under those polar artificial eyes "Even though it had started for my sake, it turned completely against me in the long run, didn't it? Don't worry, though…Father didn't really think things through where I was concerned…Sometimes I think I hate him for forgetting me…but most moments I know I don't…love…hate…stupid words."

As the voice ominously faded, the mechanic riot again came into focus, and Noa's face broke into a wide grin, his attention seemingly diverted.

"Enough with this preamble however. My Agents inform me we can now enter the main subject." "Agents", as they had learned was a euphemism for the X. How fitting. Noa laughed loudly, his cavernous mouth bringing to mind the countless images of evil overlords Yugi had encountered in virtual games.

Dark Yugi's arms hurt, and so did his legs. The exhaustion of his body weighed him down, and the electric strain his energy was putting on Yugi's body was now starting to take its toll. He'd probably either loose consciousness soon, or give way to his Brightside. Both conclusions where unfavourable, given this situation. However, the Game King didn't know, yet, that he was about to get the shock of his life in a few minutes.

"Let me roughly explain the situation to your minuscule human brains" Noa started, in a faked eager tone "First of all, you might question my motives, but I have already explained how clear they are. It's simple really. I'm looking for a body, to be resurrected as a human."

"Wouldn't that make you a minuscule mortal as well?" Serenity ironically questioned, but Noa was not phased. "Of course not. Once I channel into a body, that doesn't mean that I can't channel out of it. I intend to use bodies as suits. Wear them for some years, then switch to another, then to another."

"You want immortality as well." Marik loudly stated, sounding utterly disgusted.

"Is this immortality thing the new trend or what?" Serenity sneered.

"Say what you wish" Noa countered "But you're not the one who'll live forever."

"And I don't want to. Have you ever realized how meaningless and boring that would be?" the girl defended, but Noa openly ignored her, obviously taking for granted that she knew nothing and he everything. He opted to continue laying his evil schemes on the table.

"I have thought of channeling into Seto, but I don't much fancy going from one machine to another. Seto's only difference from my current self is that he is mobile, a thing not as indispensable for me as you'd think. No, the whole idea is to become human again."

Noa smiled at the two hanging men innocently "I guess we can all think of a human with a brain ready to accept a machine." He snickered, making Bakura narrow his eyes and Marik gasp from below.

"You bastard!" the blond started shouting, seeing Noa's vicious look and not liking it one bit "What the hell are you thinking-" but Serenity stopped him with a steady look. She turned her attention to Bakura and Yugi, who both seemed somewhat tense, if not downright haunted.

"You're going to use Ryou's or Yugi's body?" Bakura asked in disbelieving trepidation, making Noa smile. Bakura was sure the answer was yes by that smile alone, so he was somewhat surprised by what came up next.

"Of course not, you visceral little mammal. I don't want to channel into someone connected with the Millennium Rod. I much prefer a little treat dear old Father has prepared for me. It was a very special case. I bet you'll like it. In fact, my agents tell me they're bringing it here right now."

Exactly on cue, an array of banging noises was heard from the background, and a parade of X marched in the room, carrying two eerily familiar contraptions.

"One may say I could be doing this but to spite you" Noa laughed in a completely flabbergasted Bakura's face "but I've actually quite taken a liking to this one. It's a perfectly prepared body. Infused with more transplants and toxins than you can ever imagine, he's utterly perfect for my purpose. Not only that, but by the specific preparations he's undergone, all his physical measurements have been recorded and assimilated to my system. This is a body completely prepared, especially for me. A special suit, if you like, which has been carefully cut to my exact measurements…so that I can channel my 'soul' in it."

And just like that, Noa pointed towards the newly brought _things._ They were revealed to be two familiar water- tubes. The ones they had all seen in the Hydro Room. Two tall pillars of water. Two men, eternally sleeping. The Emperor of the Earth, Atem, who Yugi didn't yet recognize as his own person and the son of Yuuta Bakura, the notorious Nehti.

Marik had never seen them, never really _seen_ them with his own eyes until then. He'd only seen a fuzzy image through a screen, and it really couldn't do much for rendering the ancients' true countenance. He knew one of these bodies had to belong to Bakura, and could feel his heart beating frantically when he recognized a man he remembered from 600 centuries ago- a man with black hair and red eyes. Had he been looking elsewhere, he might have noticed 290's lingering gaze and become jealous, but he never really tore his eyes away from the two sleeping bodies.

But then, what Noa had said hit him full force. Suddenly, he realized that just when he'd found the true Bakura, Noa would take him away…"Wha- You-You can't!" Marik started shouting, but Noa was already preoccupied with talking to an utterly horrified Yugi.

"…I understand the shock of meeting your own body from outside, Yugi, but I admit I don't much care about it. I have much work to do and cannot presently amuse myself by observing the expressions provoked by your erratic, frantic thinking."

Yugi nearly couldn't breathe. The flashbacks were coming so fast, he was practically choking, not at all aided by his current anatomically unorthodox stance. He couldn't even see Bakura's narrow frown at him as he started panting, while staring at the body which had once belonged to him: the body of the Emperor, Atem. That brown haired, sleeping stranger who Yugi couldn't really accept was himself until he got those scorching flashbacks…

_Your Highness, they're expecting_ _you…we must hurry._

_I don't understand. What's the meaning of this, Big 5!_

_It's them! It's them! They've come for you!_

_Your Highness, please follow us. This is for your own safety._

_Poison gas has been released in the Parliament vents. I repeat! Poison gas has been released in the vents. Evacuate immediately!_

_I knew it! I knew you were behind this, Kaiba!_

_On this tragic day, we have gathered to mourn the sudden disappearance of our Chancellor, the Supreme of the Senate, the Emperor of the Universal Nations…_

_Where—where am I…_

_The one place which has a future!_

…_Mana…where…_

_To Kuru Eruna, your Highness! Where kings are slaves!_

Yugi was left literally speechless, blinded, deaf and mute, with tears threatening to wet his proud, sharp cheekbones. Noa, obviously, couldn't care less. He only kept on laughing. Laughing and laughing…he was unexplainably, maniacally happy at having provoked enough pain to shock a proud man into silence.

Within the fuzzy sound of Marik's indecent cursing of Noa, Serenity's calls for love and understanding and 290's startled yelps, Yugi met the piercing, silent gaze of his annoying albino adversary. For once, there seemed to be no hostility hidden in those occult, red eyes, but only a kind of silent, mystic understanding. As though Bakura was the only who understood, the only one who knew what it was like to see your life after you've lived it.

Yugi was filled, suddenly, with a sense of abstract remorse for this man. He slowly, wearily turned to look at both their hibernating bodies, both tall, both slim, both soulless. He wanted to learn, suddenly, whether he and Bakura had been enemies in their past. Did they even know each other? Did they hate each other? Why?

Seeing his body, he recognized he must have been at least thirty years old, and suddenly couldn't help but wonder. Who was he, really, except the emperor? Bakura's body revealed he was much younger. To the Game King, Nehti looked like a teenager having just reached adulthood. Much like what Ryou and Marik were today.

Suddenly, Yugi felt tired. This constant fight, this strain to hate, to keep winning, to dominate… He didn't want that anymore. The moment he'd seen Tea for the first time, he'd immediately been reminded of someone else, albeit he didn't know who. A girl…a girl from his past…the same sparkling, kind blue eyes…

…_Mana…_

He didn't understand why, or how. He only knew, the moment he met Tea that he only wanted to live with her. Quietly. Peacefully. Even if that meant staying in Yango. But his damned destiny, it seems, had a way of finding him even when he didn't come looking for it.

He watched Bakura, his tired face worn down from his intense troubles, his fair features almost turned another colour because of the dirt and blood. Then, he looked at 290, also broken and looking positively dead, every bit the beautiful puppet, the clone of something great- a work of art, a copy of a famous painting, having captured the movement and the atmosphere, but not the inner spark. And last of all, he looked at Noa, that fake digitalized face, probably the mental simulation of the boy he once was.

Seeing his guffawing face, his merciless eyes, even so Yugi couldn't bring himself to hate them like he once did. He couldn't find it in himself. Noa, especially was a child. A lost little child, who was looking for a father, a mother. Some compassion.

Marik and Bakura…both of them so confident, so adult, yet simultaneously so lost and broken. Yugi knew they considered him to be only a showoff for games, but he found it ironic that at this moment, he was the only one to find peace in himself, and _understand_ his true purpose.

"All the preparations have been made. The excruciating special torture Nehti's body went through was all for the sake of preparing him for the installation of another soul- my soul. Nehti is empty right now, he's in suspended animation, and so is Atem. Out of the two, the body measured and ideal for me is Nehti's. However,…" Noa's words were there, but they held no real meaning. He spoke all right, but Yugi couldn't really hear anything. He looked at Noa's mouth opening and closing and all he could hear was "help me,..please…someone…I'm all alone…"

_You've always been one to understand others like this, haven't you…it's almost intrinsic, you once told me. You can't help it, isn't that right?_

Marik was shouting, yelling something at the top of his lungs about how Noa couldn't do this, how Marik wouldn't let him do this, how…Bakura was glaring, Serenity crying…290 also looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't dare, watching Marik.

"However…" Noa pressed on, and Yugi strained to actually _listen_ to what Noa was saying "However, the body cannot live without the soul. What we had initially tried to do was take out one soul and put in another. In this case, erase Nehti's and install mine. By extracting Nehti's brainwaves, we rendered his body in this state of soulless hibernation. However, when we tried to channel me inside the body, we found it impossible. It seems that the original brainwaves need to already be in the organism, so that the new, incoming one can find a place to 'settle' in the organism. Alien brainwaves seem not to be able to autonomously adjust to a host body. The original brainwaves must already be there, and all the alien has to do is overpower them with his own." Noa smiled carnivorously down at a weakened, glaring Bakura.

"Now that you've brought yourself and your precious 'Ring' to my hands, I have every element of the equation needed to complete my plan!" Noa laughed once again, and Yugi felt a resounding echo inside him shouting "you can't change a man's soul…the ones who die are meant to stay dead…you can't…replace…"

"To put it all simply, Bakura, all I need to do is put you back in your body and then take it over, dominating your will, your soul, with my own," Noa gleefully finished.

"That can't be done!" Bakura ostentatiously barked "you can't take my own body from me, because it was meant to be mine! My soul will be most powerful when it's inside it!"

Noa let out a strangled sound which more resembled a sob than the laugh it represented "Is that so? In that case, I assure you, all the proper measurements have been taken, all the experimental deaths committed, all that could possibly go wrong has been tested and corrected. Science overpowers your idiotic beliefs. As for what you call your 'spirit', all I have to tell you is that Nehti has been asleep for more than 600 years! Trust me, once he wakes, he won't be in the best of health! You can forget what you now experience as Ryou's para-personality! His original energy sustains his body for you. It's completely different having to feed and sustain your own body! You'll fall spectacularly Bakura! I'll dominate your will very easily!" Noa spit at a glaring Bakura's face " And if that isn't enough to convince you, here's a simulation."

And with those words, Noa's virtual face disappeared and its place took a huge digital board of indecipherable numbers which none could discern. "This is the chart which constantly follows Nehti's vital systems." The numbers kept rolling form high to low, changing. Suddenly, a matching chart came to the left of the huge screen, siding with that of Nehti.

"This is the chart for my own, hibernated body's life force." Noa's voice boomed "Now, observe" he said, and all watched as Nehti's and Noa's statistics started to become more and more similar, until the numbers were completely identical.

Marik's crystal eyes widened and his voice started chocking, the sight unbearably abnormal to him, for some reason. The same could be said for Bakura.

"You have no idea" Noa started "How much experimentation and procedures we had to go through to turn this…" and he displayed in the screen the chart of Nehti's original stats "…into this." and he showed the image of Nehti's final chart, which was identical to that of Noa.

"And when I say 'experimentation', I mean things that haven't gone very easy on Nehti. There have been some minor drawbacks on the body itself, namely, some unusual symptoms in the eye colour or nature of the nails and skin. However, it's nothing that can't be dealt with. It's a good start." Noa said, making Bakura thrash around.

"You bastard! How dare you speak of my body as though you're choosing your clothes!" he yelled, his arms bruising by the force with which he drove them against his metal clasps. Just then, there started approaching a couple of X. Noa grinned.

"This is the simulation of what happens when my brainwaves are inserted in your body." The cyber boy said, and in the screen came the thermal mage of two bodies and a bar between them, which signified "Host assimilation process". The group watched, in utter horror, not even caring for the ominous presence of the approaching X and the violent thrashing sounds around them, as the bar progressively all became blue and a female digital voice echoed "Procedure success: 100".

Noa's face then appeared in the screen once again, this time grinning with a nearly compassionate smile, which, when juxtaposed with his crazed eyes, created the effect of insanity. "You, see, Nehti…there's just no way to escape it. You must accept your fate. You were born for this. Born to be part of something great. Born to become…my vessel! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the laughter of unrestrained paranoia hollered, extremely clichéd in all lunatic cases of evil homicidal maniacs, but not at all comforting in its cliché.

As his laughter faded, their attention was drown to the hovering presence of the mechanic giants, who had now come extremely close to the hanging two.

"Yugi too?" Serenity yelled in disbelief, trying to save what few vestiges she could of her friends "Why? You only need Bakura!"

Noa seemed to ignore her, at first, looking intent on what the X were doing, but finally answered her "Oh, that. For backup, of course. Atem's body has undergone the same kind of preparation, although it hasn't been completed. Even so, if something with Nehti goes wrong, I can always try again with Atem."

"Yugi! Bakura! Do something!" Serenity desperately begged, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, since Yugi was too far gone in his sea of oblivion to understand sorrow for his long lost life. He understood Noa, he understood…

"Noa!" he shouted, always proud "I know you're hurt because of what your Father did to you, but choosing the easy road of death and destruction is always easy! Imagine what you could do with your powers, with your scientific knowledge! Imagine how you could redeem yourself by helping people instead of destroying them- this would also show your father what a man you've become! A good man, Noa! A man who prefers the difficult, ugly road instead of giving up and becoming the monster they've tried to create out of you! NOA! I understand how much men have hurt you and how you think of them as polluting your world, but please, try to remember, you're a man too!" Yugi finished with what seemed too be the last of his strength, his speech seeming to indeed reach Noa's secluded digital cell and shake it.

"SHUT UP! You neither know nor understand anything! You're just another one, using words to convince and coax and then stabbing in the back in the first chance! I don't need you, you hear? I'm better than you, and I'm going to prove it to you, by taking everything you hold dear and destroying it! Your body, your memories, your self! I'll destroy you, you hear? You and everyone else like you, and I'll be the one and only ruler, in the end!" Noa violently shouted.

"The king who reigns after the end of the world reigns over carrion. Do you understand the meaning of this, Noa?" Serenity countered, but Noa didn't yield.

"Then I'd rather reign over nothing than live forever in this cage! I'm more brilliant than anyone could ever hope to be! All these years of patience, of quietly waiting, everything has finally paid off! Now is my time to shine, and none of you will take that away from me!" he shouted again, this time taking care to magnify his face ominously on the screen.

"You're pitiful." Marik then calmly said, his throat dry and hoarse "Pitiful. Just because your life has been deprived of love, you're jealous of everyone and everything else, and you wish to destroy them. You're pitiful." On Marik's side, 290's eyes lowered to the ground, not knowing why these words made his chest tighten so painfully and his eyes sting. An image of Bakura's red eyes flew to his mind, but it was suppressed by another wave of asphyxiation when the red of Bakura's eyes swirled to a world of his red sweat, where two people were kissing, pressed against a wall.

"I'mpitiful? _I'm_ pitiful?" Noa asked, as though incredulous "This comes from the man who's a copy of a hundred thousand others. What makes you think you're so special, anyway? You're not the _real_ man! You may even not be original in your faults. Who knows whether there are more ineffective clones in the sequence? And who would I be jealous of? You? Or maybe your little friends? I want to hurt you all so deeply that you will plead for my mercy. I want to erase every ounce of pleasure from your existence. And with you, Marik, this is even easier, since I'm going to take away your most important person." Noa said, with resolve.

Suddenly, the sound of the X moving became more pronounced, and all were startled when a giant robot appeared right between the hanging Bakura and Yugi, blocking the vision of Noa's face on the screen.

Yugi didn't really have time to feel, or think, very much. He felt a sense of drowning sorrow, a sense of having failed the purpose of his life. All his life, he had tried to convince others, though they never took him seriously, to respect other people and to help them whenever they could. All his life, at least what he concretely remembered of it, had been a constant struggle against some evil force trying to pull him down. Poverty, stronger people who enjoyed bullying others, vindictive ones who refused to acknowledge they were hurting themselves even more by hating, even his own Brightside, who made him carry an abstract sense of constant guilt, for some reason.

Noa was going to erase his memory, he was sure of it, even if it hadn't been explicitly mentioned. Noa was going to pulverize what little of his being still remained untouched, and then crush it with his cold, electronic will. Yet, out of all this, nothing bothered Yugi as much as the prospect of what his own hands may do while under another soul's control. For the first time in his life, he felt like kneeling, as though beaten in his best game. The idea of his body doing something his soul didn't approve was worse than death. His body…being dominated by someone else…even if it hosted someone else's soul, it would still be his body, wouldn't it…his body and soul…who decided which was tied to which…who…

…Decides?

A digital dead child? It doesn't seem right…But still, who? God? What is God? He's not here, and even if he was, Yugi would curse him, since who is he to choose which soul goes where?

There is no power which controls us…Noa would use his science to have his way, and he would prove that this link between soul and body does not exist. By erasing, by pulverizing every part of the other soul, he would manage to do what Yugi had always been afraid men would one day be able to do: to utterly, unbreakably _kill_. He would abuse to no end, he would dominate every little part of that alien body, do with it whatever he wanted and shed the blame on the original personality, since it was 'their body'…

'My body….or is it…Yugi's body…'

_When Tea calls my name, sometimes I feel like…it's not me she's calling…it's something else…what she wants me to be. A good man…you._

'Do I abuse a body as well…am I guilty, of the same crime…?'

_Even so…even so…In my life…I've loved…_

'When my will is noble…does that justify my means?'

_I love-_

-

They were all caught unprepared, though Noa's evil laughter should have served as a warning. They didn't expect it to happen so fast. The robot standing between the hanging two turned to Yugi so fast that it was brutal. Yugi seemed startled, waking, one might say, from a dream daze. When the robot fisted an iron claw on his chest and tore at his shredded shirt's fabric, no one except for Bakura was fast enough to realize this assault's purpose.

The Millennium Puzzle's fleeting sparkle flashed so sharp and sudden, that even Serenity, who didn't have the ability to see the hologram version of Dark Yugi could almost see his delicate spirit being torn from his host's body. She could almost see it, just as Marik and Bakura's wide eyes did, as it wrung residually, fighting to cling to Yugi's body. But the droid had pulled the puzzle away completely, and Atem' s image started to lose it's shape of Yugi- it's image of the determined violet eyes, the stray thin blond locks that sweetly covered Yugi's left eye, the frail arms and wiry legs, almost juvenile in their slim shapelessness—now he was only a spectre. The shining, man-shaped shadow that Marik had recognized as Bakura in the KC base.

YuuGi Ou- Game King. Or perhaps, his ghost?

Bakura's eyes turned wide and strangely frantic, knowing his turn would come next. When he turned to look at a stunned Marik , the tanned boy was sure he could see his red eyes drip blood from their pain. Suddenly, it was all in suspended animation. Bakura's pale wrists were dragging with them his entire torso, as he pressed them frantically against his restrains. His torn clothes, revealing all those slants of pale expanses, those full lips, now forgetting to form sneers but reverting to their indigenous, slightly open gasp. Those eyes, not narrow and frozen, but spherical and burning.

For a moment, Marik forgot how to think, and could hear nothing, except his breathing. Those eyes which were haunting him. Those snowy strings of hair, flying like fingers trying to grasp him but unable. He saw, in Bakura's eyes, all fear and desperate anger, and words which had been left unsaid. He saw a plea, and felt his knees weaken, knowing he could do _nothing, nothing _to stop this. The Rod had been taken from him, and he was just a kid. Helpless. Just like that time…he could do nothing to protect the ones he loved.

_Nee-san?_

Bakura opened his mouth as though to speak, realizing he couldn't escape and opting to speak the last words he wanted to say. Marik was writhing, his wrists were bleeding from trying to escape the metal binds. Next to him, 290 looked on with a face of utter sorrow, while Serenity, with a grimace of desperation, was also trying to escape.

"NO!" Marik was shouting, seeing in slow motion, the mechanic clutch fist in Bakura's shirt, the albino eyes not turning to the attacker but remaining adhered to Marik's.

_You can't! We have so much to do that we haven't done yet! I have to show you things! I want-_

_I want to live with you! –I-_

This time, Serenity was sure she saw it. It was something white, like a ghost, truly, or maybe it was Ryou's white hair as his spirit was dispatched from his body. The bells of the Ring like Asian legends coming back to life, determining the fate of the world, the Judgment Day for Marik. He heard a breath…like the sound a person does when he dies, which climbs from deep inside his lungs.

After that, there came no sound. Ryou Bakura's body sagged down like an empty sack of potatoes, a rag which has been worn and tossed away. His porcelain features were left unmoving, as Serenity, her heart beating wildly, waited for him to wake up as Ryou, but was left despondently disappointed.

Just like Yugi, Ryou hadn't recovered yet, but remained still in that stance of suspended crucifixion, machines hovering over him, his long white hair hiding his face. A ghost, a figure illuminated from within its own body- Serenity thought she saw- but maybe that was because of her own tears.

And Marik, Marik who was screaming, high and hoarse, right in front of a bewildered 290, couldn't even see. He wasn't crying- he had no more tears to shed anymore. He just couldn't see and he couldn't hear- he couldn't focus on anything. He kept trying to breathe, trying to move his limbs, trying to make his mouth open, _open_, but he couldn't. Like a ton of bricks the memory assaulted him, that he had felt this once before, when a man dressed in white had exited his room, and there was gas all around him, and he was suffocating…

He was dying. He was dying all over again. This is how dying felt like, he knew it. He remembered. He couldn't even tell anyone that he was dying! He was trying to tell Bakura or Serena, but he couldn't- he couldn't breath-

"Marik!" Serenity was calling him, but he couldn't hear. All he could hear was Noa's voice, huge and overpowering over his meek crouching figure "I'll erase all their memories and then install them in their original bodies…this is the beginning of the end…"

There were machines, and there was shouting. Distantly, Marik realized that Noa would manage to kill him even more deeply, since he would kill all the memories of the one he loved- Bakura…Bakura wouldn't remember him, even if he came back!

He thought he saw the ring flashing, as though trying to override itself, trying to move out of its captor's mechanic grasp, but to no avail. There was the sound of machines, and the distant sound of Serenity calling for Ryou, and 290 shouting something at him, which he couldn't understand.

The X which held the two Millennium Items moved towards the panel where Noa's screen overlooked, and, after a couple of breathtaking moments, two sickening cracks were heard. The next thing Marik knew, now more alive and alert than ever, since he was preparing to die again, was that something was thrown at his feet- something strange…deformed…

_Who is to decide destiny? And what if they decide wrong? And who is the one to decide what is right and wrong? How do we…_

_All I ever wanted was to live with the one I cherish the most. Why is that so hard?_

Bakura's golden ring. Now, like Bakura, turned inside out, defiled by some steel hands who could effortlessly bend the unbreakable metal so many had tried and failed to forge. Marik had wanted time and time again to see the secrets it held inside, to try and find a body for Bakura to have as his own…now he realized how selfish he'd been. If only he'd realized how lucky he was to even have Bakura as a spirit at his side. Now he wouldn't even have that. No more cheeky smiles for him. No more red eyes.

When Noa channeled into Nehti, if he really managed to do it, then Marik would be the one to kill him. He'd be the one to kill Noa's spirit forever, he' be the one to petrify every feeling of mercy and goodness inside him, regardless of what Bakura may have wanted, and he would take _revenge, **revenge.** For all those times they've killed me…me and everyone that mattered to me! I won't be helpless anymore!_

He'd said a thousand words at that silent moment- his blood eyes- so round and liquid – like balls of fire, like volcanic craters…

_I wanted to be with you…I'm happy I'm dying…I'm glad –I…Isn't it so ironic that I'm finally dying now?… We've loved- ….- ever since I met- don't forget me- please **–don't forget me!**_

Oh yes. Noa would die. He'd die even if Marik had to kill himself to do it.

The cold female AI voice was back, spelling clearly Marik's new death—"

_**Don't forget**…what I felt…_

"Memory banks cleared".

And just like that, within seconds, all Marik had ever done, ever wanted, ever achieved. All Bakura had incidentally ever felt for him, all Bakura had ever realized about himself as a person…all of it was gone.

"No…Bak…Baku…" Ryou was whispering in his raving nightmare, just as Yugi was for his Game King. Who knew what connections had just died, when all the intense feeling of sharing your soul- your deepest existence with another person had been erased in that person's memory. There was no memory now in that person…'Ryou? Who's that…do I know him…Who are you? Who am I? What am I? I want to die! Why can't I die!' Marik just imagined…

"This is it, my guests. Now your lucky eyes will bear witness to the greatest evolution of all mankind. The final countdown! The final citadel! The soul!" Noa cried, as the X punched various buttons and made various panels open and close. Marik saw the platforms where Nehti and Atem's body were sleeping be raised and suspended even higher than they already were. Beneath them, special slots were revealed and extended.

Serenity could only watch, struggling frantically, as the X approached the sleeping men's capsules and inserted their brainwave chips- wide and gold- in the proffered slots. While framed with Noa's frantic guffaws, the body stat panels in front of the water capsules turned from blue to green.

_It is ironic isn't it…all this time I've only wished for one thing…Now that I have it…I don't want it…_

"We have to do something! We can't let him do this!" Serenity was shouting, and 290 agreed with her. Ryou and Yugi were still partly unconscious, but seemed strangely troubled in their sleep. Marik tried, desperately, to override his frantic thoughts of what would happen if Bakura really awoke as Noa, in order to come up with something. This time, however, he had nothing. No Rod, no GOULS to back him up, no Bakura, _no Bakura…_

He felt like crying and screaming, but it just couldn't come out. The hurt was actually so fresh that he had trouble believing it yet. He still partly believed that all he had to do was glue the ring back together and put it in Ryou's pocket, and Bakura would come back again, all smiles and winks and teasing comments.

_My…destiny…_

But that wasn't so, was it? Because even if he came back, Bakura would have no memories of him…Even if he came back, he wouldn't be the same Bakura anymore, and he could never become the same…

_Every man's experience is different, which is why he is special for his own qualities…The same man can grow to different personalities, depending on…the circumstances…in…which…he…_

Noa didn't appear on the screen for a while, but they could all see things happening in the screens, medical readings, preparations. Besides, they had Noa running a constant, torturous commentary for them "Now I'm settling the nervous system adjustments" "Now I'm taking a reading of Nehti's recently awakened brainwave power" "Now I'm doing this" "Now I'm doing that" "_Now I'm ripping you heart out of your body and shredding it to tiny pieces by killing the one you love and making him forget you forever, so that he can die without even knowing you."_

Finally, after what seemed like a nightmare of eternities passed and Noa had made all the necessary 'preparations', he jarred Marik and Serenity back to reality by uttering what they most feared.

"Well, I suppose the time has finally come for you to witness the Rebirth. You see, through my Rebirth, you shall witness the Rebirth of all mankind. Through me, you will see the dawn of all the new age symbolizes. Immortality. Eternity. We have finally become…Gods."

"You can't possibly mean that." 290 incredulously said, as though not particularly involved with the affair, but merely observing "You, being an all-knowing supercomputer who has functioned in a _medical_ institution should recognize the ravings of a lunatic when you hear them." He said, with faked mile amusement.

"Supreme intelligence often borders lunacy, it's true" Noa's smile broadened dangerously, kindling the spark of Marik's hate "But that doesn't delete the belying brilliance."

And then, turning towards the sleeping Nehti's body, his eyes retrieving that strange spark, which implies a silent sadness along with its insanity, he continued. "A brilliance which you are lucky enough to witness be born."

And just as he said that, his voice having lowered dangerously, there were a couple of clicking noises and everyone's attention turned to the panel in front of Nehti's capsule. The readings on the screen had now turned orange. A slight grin from Noa was all the warning they had.

"Initiating brainwave transfer process" the same, detested female voice said, and Marik briefly felt his stomach sinking and lurching before being spurred into frantic, but fruitless, thrashing. He tried to escape, along with 290 and Serenity, each for their own frantic purpose, but all for something common. As a familiar percentage bar appeared in the screen in front of them, the future of the world where people could exchange souls and bodies and remain immortal flashed before them.

For Marik, everything that had happened which truly mattered was extremely personal, but being now faced with this, this possible future, this 'Rebirth', he realized that when he fought Noa's vision, he wouldn't only be fighting for his own goal, but for something greater, something more important. At that moment, when images of tortured people who sat in laboratory cells and of people having their Hyper Arms installed flashed behind his closed eyelids, for the first time, he felt the need to protect, to right what was wrong.

_You always say you don't have a hero complex…I wonder…._

And at that moment, for once, Marik felt what it must be like to be Yugi, a man who always thinks beyond, a man who always uses big words like Friendship and Freedom and Love to speak. Marik always thought Yugi was speaking hypocritical cant, but now he finally understood what it was like to think so widely, in such an expanded way. What it was like to understand, through personal tragedy, why the world is wrong. This was the first step, the realization, in gaining the will to change this world.

He thought of all those victims, he thought of Kaiba Seto's eternally frozen, crystallized oceanic eyes, suspended always in the middle of a lurching emotion, and never able to express it. He thought what Kaiba Seto may have been like before whatever happened to make him a half-human, half-robot cyborg. He imagined Seto' s hoarse voice, his wide eyes, his long limbs writhing violently as all signs of the divine spark died within him, dead even before his life was wretched away from him. Dead in dreams, dead in day, dead in night.

Seto's death, which never came yet never stopped, his killed eyes, his nullified thoughts, which had been reduced to non-autonomous so completely…all those were signs of all those victims. Victims…victims…an army of victims. Old and young, male and female, human and non-human…all of them, led by that proud, unbending spine; those blue eyes which stand tall and smirk, reign and freeze and kill.

And behind him, all those men and women, those deformed creatures the Big 5 destroyed. All those who died in Kuru Eruna- those poor children who were lured to the devil's keep in search of a family to love them. Millions, billions of souls- the ones with hyper arms- those truly so unnecessary abominations- adorning their monstrous arms. Among them was a man with blond hair, chestnut eyes and a warm smile, which seemed to come from the world beyond that of the dead- from the world of forgiveness.

Mai, Joey, Seto, Ryou, Marik, Rishid, Bakura, Noa… all those millions, millions of people, tortured and dead. What had happened, one wonders, to make Seto what he is today? What had he been like with the brother he loved so much? Did Mokuba have blue eyes and white skin too, like Seto's robotic face? Did he ever laugh?

And Bakura…who knows what kind of life Nehti had had before his father's sins brought him to the sacrificial position of the greatest scapegoat of Kuru Eruna? What did Nehti do in his life- what was his personality, really? Was there anything left of it in order to be exterminated by Noa now?

Marik focused so much on all that pain, all gathered in the face of a small child, an abandoned digital little boy, who personified in his insane, dead eyes all the spirit of this Era. Marik focused so much of his power on that progressive percent bar, he thought that his will alone would break the screen. But he knew that his power didn't work with objects, or people who weren't under his mnd control. Still, 290 was lurching next to him, obviously tortured by the mind control Marik was trying to cast. Marik knew that the mind slaves must also be affected, but there was nothing they could do to stop the process of Nehti converting to Noa…Bakura…Bakura…

"STOP IT! YOU'RE KILLING ME!" 290 was shouting, but it was all Marik could do, and he didn't know what more to try. He felt so helpless, his beloved being exterminated in all ways before his eyes and he was unable to do a thing! And it was more of an extermination for Bakura's personality: his soul would fall to oblivion than for him to die naturally! What sins had Nehti committed in his life, for which he had been so severely punished in eternity?

"MARIK!" Serenity suddenly yelled, her eyes wide and looking at the screen, and for a moment Marik thought he had succeeded, because the screen had suddenly started to flash red. However, he soon realized it wasn't his mind control that was doing anything, because the percentage progress bar froze and started flashing red. In fact, all sub-screens started flashing red, in the fashion of a red alert. The X were immediately immobilized and didn't move at all, the lights on their mechanic bodies flashing red as well. Noa's surprised face suddenly appeared in the screen, now tinged in the omnipresent red colour.

"What's happening?" Noa frantically questioned, as he seemingly tried to trigger some controls to no avail "What's the matter? Why is the system not obeying?" he yelled in his whining, perturbed voice, too preoccupied to answer Serenity's calls.

"Perhaps you miscalculated, NOA!" Serenity loudly mocked, unable to hide her glee, as red light and sirens went off around them.

"Impossible…" Noa transiently answered her, and seemed to honestly believe it, as he apparently fought to take over the controls again.

But, as they later discovered, it was neither Noa's miscalculations nor Marik's visceral attempts at mind control which had stopped the system procedure. It was a loud, barbaric, obviously evil guffawing sound, which, curiously enough, did not belong to Noa.

Marik hadn't been so honestly startled for a long, long time.

Noa's image on the screen started deteriorating, eaten away at the edges, as though becoming rotten, or infested with some kind of virus.

Wait a second!

_Virus?_

"I knew this would happen one day, Noa." A loud, very strange voice uttered, and they all recognized it as the same voice which had guffawed previously "That's exactly why I took some precautions".

Noa's face, now half eaten away, gasped in fright, and the boy covered his face, as though caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Fa—Father?" he blanched, amusingly enough, and they were all granted with the image of a grown man replacing Noa's on the big screen. Was…could this really be? Noa's father? Gozaburo…Kaiba? The man who had started all of this?

"What did you think Noa, that I'd let you live on after death and not do it for myself? Of course I did" the newcomer didn't even waste a second on Marik and his friends, not even for the sake of introducing himself "I placed a bug in the system, designed to awaken when you'd try to channel yourself into a human, which I knew you would, someday".

Gozaburo Kaiba. Fat. Ugly. Old. With a greasy mustache and greased back hair to go with it, dressed in a laughable red suit, unbelievably tacky in its bad taste, just as the man himself. He gave a sense of cheapness, overall, a sense of uncultured greasiness. Even if he wasn't there in person, but merely as a digital presence, he surely betrayed his lack of experience with high society, which originated from plebeian canniness and not real genius of spirit. It showed that he didn't belong to their time by the way he talked, those archaic phrases he unconsciously used. The language had changed very much over the years and he obviously hadn't caught up. His way of speaking was understandable in general, however, and, in any case, Marik had seen much worse in Yango, not to mention in his Ancient Rail classes with Rishid.

"I knew you'd try to become human again, and I programmed myself to trigger immediately when you tried it. Now, using the technology you've uncovered ever since my death, I can become human myself, instead, and be the eternal leader of KaibaCorp!" he raved. For Marik and Serenity it was obvious this man didn't even know what year it was, let alone seriously construct a plan. He was just a raving lunatic! Contrary to his son, who was actually both computer and human, this was merely a greedy, simply egotistic, evil bastard.

"Who are you?" Marik ventured to open a discussion with this stranger, only to have his apostrophe severely ignored.

"I see the clone has grown up. Last time I saw him he was a child! And what's this? Another clone! This lab has changed since the last time I saw it, but no matter, your computer memory banks will slowly be fed into me by the virus, and soon I will completely replace you as ruler of this system! I will become even better than my good-for-nothing son!" Gozaburo declared, still not revealing his identity, but now undoubtedly proving he was who they thought him to be.

Fleetingly, Serenity acknowledged businessmen had hardly changed during the centuries, still old, greedy, stingy and ugly. The only exception to that rule was the odd charming, bachelor, connoisseur, businessmen heartthrobs, like Seto Kaiba, but then, they too eventually grew to be stingy, old and fat, didn't they?

"Just you wait Noa. Just you wait. I'm going to wipe you out of this system and control ev-" but Gozaburo stopped suddenly and gasped, as though having just received an information so exciting he could barely hold it in.

"Atem?" he said in disbelief "The Emperor? When was he captured without my knowledge! This must be the work of the Big 5! Imagine what will happen when I channel into his body!" and like the extremely greedy bastard that he was, simultaneously similar and different from his son, he started laughing in pleasure, probably imaging the possibilities- the doors- the lost Emperor's body would open for him.

"Is he an idiot?" Serenity whispered to Marik, wincing from her bound arms "Doesn't he realize Atem hasn't been the Emperor ever since 600 years ago?" she asked in confusion.

"He 's not aware what year it is!" 290 answered her silently, trying not to draw the raving Gozaburo's attention to him "He probably thinks that it still is only a few years after he died or something!"

Marik shook his head, as he watched Gozaburo set the X into preparing Atem's capsule in the same way Noa had prepared Nehti's 'There is no way this idiot will succeed! Atem's body hasn't been prepared to host him, like Nehti's has been to host Noa! He'll fail for sure!' he thought to himself in glee, unbelieving of Bakura's luck at not being turned into Noa, due to Gozaburo's bug! Still, he could not help but worry whether or not a part of Bakura's personality had been lost with what little Noa had managed to damage. And of course, now he was worried for Atem…

"Noa!" Gozaburo explained "I know how you tried to transfer yourself in Bakura's son, but I won't need that type of special preparation. My spirit is strong enough to overpower that of the Emperor!" the apparently careless man ranted.

"Father! N-N..no! stay here with me- father—please" Noa's slightly fuzzy voice echoed from somewhere in the background.

"Shut up Noa! Let go of me! You'll never be able to block me with that kind of stupid nuisance program! I've always been superior to everyone, and especially to you! To think I once wanted you to be my heir when I could live forever, myself!"

"F-father, no!" Noa's voice was heard again, but then was obviously squelched by Gozaburo.

"First I set the equation" Gozaburo steadily said, as two different medical charts were brought to the forefront of the screen. One showed the brainwaves of Atem –the host body- and the other of Gozaburo –the prospective candidate.

Serenity gasped "Oh my God! I can't believe it! Look at their waves! They're completely different!" and she was so right, Marik pondered. Gozaburo couldn't have chosen a more incompatible person than Atem, it seems. Noa obviously seemed to catch on to this quite quickly too.

"No! Father can't you see how impossible this is? His brainwaves are so different!" Noa started "his body will never sustain you- AHH!"

"SHUT IT, NOA!" Gozaburo growled dangerously, obviously having erased another part of Noa's power and taken as his own "I know what I'm doing! Once I'm human again, I'm going to destroy you! You and this entire lab, just to make sure I'll be the only one who'll ever know the secret of immortality! The Sleepers were just a cover! A cover for _me_ to become immortal! I and I alone, will become _GOD!_"

Many things happened simultaneously. First of all, the female computerized voice echoed around the lab, over the percussion of Gozaburo's laughter "Self-destruction system ignited. Access Granted. Welcome, Alpha Three." The computer greeted Gozaburo, and Serenity suddenly remembered her search for the Alpha- the men responsible for the creation of Kuru Eruna. Oh well, seems like she found one of them. " Self-destruction process initiated. Self-destruction countdown shall begin in three, two, one. Self-destruction countdown initiated. Laboratory will self-destruct in 59 minutes and 23 seconds, counting."

Marik's eyes widened, realizing a timer had just been set over their heads. Seeing as they had to find a way to stop Gozaburo and Noa, save Bakura and Yugi, find the Rod and escape with Kaiba and the rest of the GOULS was on their to-do list, setting a time limit was not one of the best additions Marik may have fathomed.

The next thing that happened was that Atem' s numerical statistic charts appeared in the screens, sided with Gozaburo's statistics. Gozaburo seemed to be preparing the same process Noa had prepared for Nehti. Only something was different. Two X approached Atem's and Nehti's capsules, and they both pressed some buttons on the touch-screen panels, which were displayed in front of said capsules.

Serenity, who had seen a close-up of those capsules, did not like the button patterns they seemed to be pressing. Unfortunately, her worst nightmares seemed to be coming true. The female voice wrung again, preaching yet another disaster.

"Hydro- Capsule compressor released. Initiating decompressing process"

Gozaburo's grin did not seem one bit reassuring. Coupled with Noa's desperate pleas not to do what he was planning, Gozaburo's non-existent logic proved even more dangerous. Thus, Marik, Serenity and 290 were forced to watched the 'decompression' process and what it entailed, mainly a series of intravenous electric shots on Atem's and Nehti's bodies via the cables connected to their limbs. Had the liquid they were suspended in been real water, the electricity could have just passed through the water, which was a catalyst. However, it must have been some other sort of liquid, the nature of which Marik hoped never to discover. Perhaps it resembled the liquid in a natural womb. However, that possibility was even more disturbing.

Unexpectedly, the female voice started speaking "All systems released for self-destruction process. All systems released. Sleeper capsules released. Clone capsules released. Hydro Capsules released. BioRobot units released."

After these words, perhaps the best thing that had happened all night took place. The metallic clasps that were binding Marik and his friends automatically opened. Marik jumped up immediately, trying to spark life back to his numb legs and his absolutely deadened arms. Serenity and 290 copied his movements. They tried to move inconspicuously, wary of the X surrounding them, but it only took a moment for them to realize that the X weren't functional anymore. Unknowingly, Gozaburo had helped them a lot by triggering the self- destruction system.

However, that mumbo-jumbo about releasing the 'Sleeper Capsules' didn't seem so much fun. Nevertheless, all Marik had to do now was find that Rod, and Bakura-

Bakura! Frantically, not knowing what to press and what not to touch, Marik ran to the Hydro-Capsules, where Atem and Nehti's bodies had now started to spasmodically thrash. The movements were harsh, violent, like those of uncontrollable skeletons. More than once, a hand or a leg hit the capsule glass surface, the sound, although partly muted, was violent and brutal- unfeeling, just like these half-dead bodies seemed to be.

"Now! Now I ordain destiny!" Gozaburo practically screamed, and started laughing insanely as he started the process of transferring his brainpower- his soul- to Atem's body.

"NO!" Noa's voice screamed, to no avail, but that didn't stop Gozaburo from transferring. The process percentage bar appeared on the screen and Marik was forced to keep watching, frozen in fright and anxiety, and utter helplessness, as electric power seemed to shock Atem from the wires that were connected to his head.

"Warning. Warning. Brainwave incompatibility alert. Cancel process immediately. Warning. Warning. Possible danger. Warning" a dozen alerts went off, Noa's face appearing on the screen with static, obviously worried and desperate.

"Father! You'll- "

Marik stayed transfixed, he alone standing before Atem' s capsule, where the electric currents had grown so much in intensity and frequency that the whole capsule glowed, as though from lightening.

Serenity and 290, who had stayed behind to tend to the fallen Ryou and Yugi, were so shocked by the sudden intensity that they ran frantically to Marik's side. Nehti Bakura's body was thrashing also, but it now seemed a completely stable awakening procedure, and very mild, faced with what was happening to Atem. Serenity's hands flew to cover her mouth, her eyes wide and terrified.

Atem' s brown, wild hair where flying towards all directions as he shook his head. When he raised his face, they all saw he wore an expression of desperation, as though he was fighting. The warnings of the computer kept echoing around, but Gozaburo wasn't stopping. He wasn't on the screen anymore; he was nowhere, yet everywhere!

_Why are you always so righteous…not everyone can be as perfect as you. You can't blame them for that._

Suddenly, the percent bars froze and the computer coldly declared "Transfer process failed. All files quarantined. All products wasted. "

_Wasted._

"YUGI!" Marik was hitting the glass with all his strength, Serenity shaking and nearly biting her palms in despondence "YUGI!" Marik was shouting, even though he knew that even if the man behind the glass answered, he wouldn't be Yugi, but someone else. And yet, he tried. He kept trying. Atem' s face was slowly becoming slack, his eyelashes fluttering underwater.

"YUUUGI! ANSWER ME! REMEMBER US! YUGI!" "YUGI!" they shouted, inow joined by a frantic 290, who had left the fallen Ryou and Yugi. The real Yugi, who had already woken behind them, at first confused and now terrified, as he saw his friends shouting at the man inside the capsule and not understanding the horror of who he was.

_You can't expect to make the world better…it was made this way for a reason._

_But I hate those kinds of people. The kind of people like Gozaburo Kaiba, or the Big 5. They always try to make others do what they want…I only want…_

_I want to…make the world a better place…is that so bad, Mana?_

_I have to…I have to…because I'm the Emperor, and all those people are expecting this of me. I have to…_

_**I have to stop him**_

Marik watched, his amethyst orbs wide and desperate, as Atem' s eyes flew open in the last spasm of his body. His eyelids flew open to reveal two twin violet gems, unlike those of any other human. Pure, sharp and almost cruel in their honour. His mouth opened as though trying to speak, but everything came out mute in the drowning water. He limbs floated silently, his open eyes now unblinkingly reflecting the flashes of electrical thunder that were shocking his unmoving, frozen body.

"YUUUUUUGIIIII!" Marik practically screamed, along with Serenity and a newly awoken Ryou. A shocked 290 and looked on as a desperately sobbing Yugi, now having caught on, clawed at Atem's capsule, with Ryou trying to pull him away.

They all watched, silent and not daring to speak or move their eyes away, as the computer declared that the 'awakening sequence' had been completed. They watched as the water in Atem's specimen tank started to empty, its surface lowering gradually.

"Father…" Noa's voice echoed in a hushed tone, it's childish, lost quality sounding absolutely fitting to the friends' situation. It really did feel like they'd lost their father, although Noa hadn't meant it for the Game King, who had always seemed the most mature man in their company. Yugi…the Game King…his romantic lectures always gave them that extra spur they needed to go on. His persistent, exited belief in the good within people always gave Marik's friends a motive- a hope they would have otherwise lost. Yugi…

The water lowered, but the man didn't swim in its surface. Instead, he sunk along with it, until his feet touched the tank floor. The wires had been removed from his body ever since the water started emptying, and so now he body was let free, finally, to sink to the tank floor. His hair wild, his eyes wide and unblinking, his face turned upwards as he stayed sitting on his prison's floor. There was no doubt as to whether he'd be waking up or not.

The creation of the new world, Marik thought, as he watched what no doubt once was a proud, strong man. For some inexplicable reason, watching Atem's presence, his eyes, overpowering and alight with hope even at his last moment reminded Marik vividly of Seto Kaiba. How proud, how rigid and courageous this man was. Marik felt more than acknowledged Yugi crying in front of Atem's still corpse, which remained damned to be imprisoned forever in this prison the colour of glass tears.

"Stop that" Marik said, touching Yugi's shoulder and pulling him back calmly. Yugi tried to shake him away, but Marik's grip became firm and he pulled back harshly, dragging Yugi to his side, where Serenity was already sobbing in Ryou's embrace.

_But no good man can change the world alone…you know that. Then why do you-_

_Keep trying? Because I believe that one good man can influence many more than an evil one. Because I need to._

_You know, one day, you're going to meet your greatest failure because of this romantic fantasy of yours._

_Hm. Maybe. But until then, at least, I can be content on overthrowing a few evil overlords first. Right? Besides, when I die, I wish to be remembered for something I've done. I've made a bet with myself, that I'll try making more people remember me by doing something good rather than something malicious. _

_That goes against the laws of history, you know. Hitler. Mussolini. Stalin. Jack the Ripper Da Vinci. Michellangello. Gandi. Who's better known?_

_The dictators and murderers, I know. That's exactly the challenge of the bet._

"Why? Don't you believe he deserves to be mourned?" Yugi bitterly questioned, not turning to look at Marik.

"I believe…" Marik started, turning back to look at the fallen Emperor and suddenly being filled with a sense of relief, of understanding the nature –the limit- of this man's soul "I believe he wouldn't want you to cry over something as trivial, Yugi." Marik finished with a thick voice. Having said that, making Yugi stare at him with the last of his silenced tears, he finally understood why he hadn't liked Atem in the beginning.

Because Yugi –or Atem- was everything he'd always wanted to be. Noble. Loving. Honourable. Proud. Honesst. True., that' s why he frustrated Marik so. Because the blond boy knew he could never become like this man: the role model for every man.

"Marik…" Serenity started, her voice slightly coarse but now seeming more worried than anything else. She seemed distracted by something behind Marik's head when he turned to her, though, so Marik instantly turned to where she was looking.

"NO!" he yelled, as he saw electric sparks flying through the cables connected to Nehti's head. A glance to the computer screen revealed what Marik had feared Noa was doing. He was repeating his father's mistake. Albeit, Noa wasn't like his father. Perhaps he'd manage to transfer into the body prepared for him. Marik didn't know if that was actually a fate even worse than death.

"Stop NOA!" Marik yelled at the top of his lungs, now running to Nehti's capsule, where he looked up and saw black silk threads and a red ribbon flying everywhere around, as Nehti thrashed his head around, his face obscured by his raven locks "Can't you see it can't be done?"

But, to Marik's surprise, he wasn't allowed to continue, since someone else stepped up.

"Don't you understand" Ryou questioned Noa loudly "that nature has set things in a certain pattern of death and rebirth? Those who die are meant to stay dead, until nature finds another way to utilize their essence and life force!"

Serenity must have probably explained, roughly, the situation to Ryou, but the albino boy, now with his true, subdued countenance, spoke with an ardor he had never shown in… anything before. It seemed as though Ryou had meant to say this for a while, and had now finally found his chance. He needed to say it.

"Who do you think you are? What kind of hubris are you committing by trying to play God? Do you really think you can take the man's soul out of his body and replace it with another?" Ryou's brows had furrowed, his arms moving violently, pushing Marik to the side and proceeding towards the screen, where Noa's frowning face appeared behind static "Were you really so stupid as to think that it will ever be possible, regardless of science, to erase the very organism who was meant to exist in a body? Just because you don't understand and can't have something, you try to destroy it, in order to claim you're stronger than it!"

Noa didn't seem to be responding, only glaring behind his percentage process bar, whose process curiously seemed to have stilled "Do you really think you'll ever become human again?" Ryou asked, and Noa was jarred back to reality.

"That's what I've been trying all along!" the boy defended.

"And do you think you'll be happy, Noa? Because that's what matters in the end, being happy. Do you think, even if you do manage, by moving another man's arms and legs and by seeing through his eyes, you'll be happy? You think you'll be wiping out Bakura's personality, when in truth you'll destroy your own, too! After a while there will be no 'Bakura', but there won't be any 'Noa' either. You won't recognize your self, and, just like sick people, in your own mind, you'll stop being yourself. You'll be assimilated in the destruction you're trying to provoke. You'll never be able to change a man's soul, Noa, no matter how smart you are! You can't live forever!"

"The measurements are perfect!" Noa heatedly argued "Nehti is perfect for my purpose! He's a body designed to fit me perfectly! The procedure is going smoothly! There is no way-"

"I don't care how the procedure goes, NOA!" Ryou yelled now, banging Noa's screen and making Noa glare violently "you can't pull his soul out! You just _can't_! I don't give a damn about how perfect you think you are or how perfectly you've prepared your procedure! The dead can't come back to life, Noa! _They mustn't!_" Ryou was now touching Noa's face on the screen, his eyes having softened.

"So please, accept this…and rest. You can't convert a man to something else. There is no way to do that, or resurrect yourself. Even Seto, who you've hated and envied so much simultaneously, is still human, even after all you've done to him. He's human, Noa. Whatever lives on this earth is human, because when it dies, someone will cry. We'll cry for you, Noa. _You're not alone."_

Noa's startled face, his wide eyes didn't even blink when the female computer voice broke out "Error. Error. Error. Unable to complete data transfer. Unable to complete transaction. Files quarantined." When the words settled in for Noa, his image was already dissipating, his 'data' being put on quarantine. His startled face still watched Ryou, now frantically displaying his disbelief at what had happened.

"This…this can't be…everything was perfect…" he whispered dejectedly.

Ryou smiled "I told you. You can't change a man's soul. I'm actually glad I had the chance to talk to you, Noa. I feel like I've finally ended this in the source where it began. I feel as though I've reached the roots. What you've been trying to do all along is live. Live, right? Maybe forever, but maybe not. But human, right? Always human. If you wanted immortality, you could have taken it easily as what you are now. But it must be lonely in there, right? It must be very lonely…"

Serenity approached the screen and took Ryou's arm, the two staring at Noa's fading image with that expression of parental understanding. It seemed to scare Noa.

"Please" Serenity started "Please fly to our memories and rest, just as all our friends have."

"I…I want…someone…Seto…always had Mokuba…I hated him for that…I—"

And just like that, they last of Noa's cleansed blue eyes flashed, and with him flashed for the last time the screen of the mainframe computer of Kuru Eruna. Ryou and Serenity, as well as the others, were very silent as Noa faded, and now only the self-destruction warning remained, saying they only had three quarters of an hour left.

"Oh no!" Serenity gasped "Nehti!" and she pointed behind Marik, who whirled around immediately. Everyone ran desperately towards the floating man, hoping to at least salvage what little they could. Everyone tried not to stare at Atem' s body and be reminded of their fresh tragedy, which was much too new to fully register. All except Yugi, who kept staring at it, tears rushing down his cheeks.

Ryou was also thinking about the void in his soul, which had already grown in the place of his ring. He could only imagine what it would be like for Yugi to actually lose that other part of his soul, which Ryou didn't even want to imagine not having. He resolved to save Bakura's soul in this stranger…this familiar stranger…whoever he was.

"Dammit! Along with Noa, all systems have shut down!" Serenity yelled, as she punched the deadened, blank screen of the panel in front of Nehti' s capsule. Marik tried to figure out what to do along with her, but was propelled into action when he took a look at what was happening inside the tank. The cables were disengaging from Nehti' s body, and it didn't seem too tender a procedure either.

"Bakura!" Ryou shouted desperately, while Yugi turned his head away from the sad sight in utter sorrow and horror combined. Nehti was still thrashing wildly around, probably the residual effects of all those varied electric shocks.

"Shit!" Serenity uncharacteristically cursed "the system's dead! The water won't empty!"

Ryou turned to her immediately "Are you joking? He'll drown! Is there no other way?"

Serenity helplessly shrugged, while she stepped away for Marik to have a go at the dead panel. "God damn it! We can only hope he won't wake up soon-" Marik started saying, while raising his eyes to look at Nehti's now calmly floating figure.

They all kept staring at the floating body, trepidation obvious in their facial expressions and the strain of the self-destruction timer weighing down on them. Nehti was unmoving and silent, long black eyelashes covering motionless eyes and red ribbon having long ago untied from his forehead.. In fact, though Ryou didn't want to think about it, maybe he had not survived-

"Ah!" Serenity gave out a small yelp when two red eyes opened all of a sudden, in the midst of the absolute quiet. Nehti stayed staring at her for a second, moving his black hair out of his vision by a slight shake of his confused, breathtakingly angular face, while Serenity stayed frozen.

"Quick! We have to break the glass!" Yugi shouted over the commotion, looking around for something sharp he could use. He found a metal rod on the ground from near an X robot and grabbed it. Turning towards the capsule, he prepared to hit it.

"Wait!" Marik shouted, lunging but not making it in time. Yugi let the metal hit the tank, only to have it almost roll back against him. The capsule was untouched. Nehti, meanwhile having started to blink faster and push the top end of his water prison, was startled by the sound of something hitting the glass from the side, since he obviously couldn't see anything around him in the liquid.

"Oh no! Nononononono don't panic!" Serenity shouted at him as though he could hear, pulling at her own hair, knowing that once a man panics, his oxygen consumption accelerates dramatically "Don't scare him!" she shouted, but it was too late, since Nehti seemed to believe he was under attack. He started hitting the sides of the tank frantically, eyes scarlet wide and mouth uttering muted calls for help.

"We can't break such enforced glass so easily!" Marik shouted, and started looking for something sturdier to use. He searched around, his heart beating wildly, having just met the same eyes as the one's he'd thought dead '_I'm not losing you now…we've come this far…I won't let you go…'_

But time was passing and they could find nothing, do nothing.

"OH MY GOD! DO SOMETHING!" Serenity literally screamed, distracting Marik enough to make him turn around. He saw Nehti, his red eyes liquefying into true, honest fear as was trying to push upwards, against the lid of the tank. His movements were becoming spasmodic, going into pre-drowning shock, his face extremely expressive in its desperation, his mouth now with muted screams. The moment Marik turned around the red eyes fixed on him, as tough Nehti could see him sharp and clear. Black long ribbons of hair were still flying around Marik's vision when he turned away, frantically searching. From outside the capsule, Nehti' s animalistic hitting the glass was nothing but a dull, slightly perturbing knock. His long nails clawing the glass must have been absolutely heart-kindling from where he was inside the capsule, but they were nothing but muted little scratches now, like the noise mice make when running on wooden floors.

"DO SOMETHING! WHATEVER!" Serenity screamed again, half- covering her eyes and half clutching at her pounding heart. Finally, not knowing what else to do, 290 and Ryou grabbed the steel shield-like object they was holding and started to bang it on the glass together, making Nehti focus and start hitting responding fists on the glass from the inside. Following their lead, Yugi started doing the same with his metal pole, from the other side of the tank.

"SHIT!" Marik roared, and grabbed a most unlikely candidate for a tool- the gigantic arm of a dismembered X.

"Get out of the way!" he barked at the others, while running towards the tank, gaining momentum. Behind Ryou and Yugi's hits, Nehti's corresponding, desperate banging fist was becoming much slower, weaker. Upon seeing what Marik was doing, Ryou and Yugi fled immediately, and Serenity lunged to the side. Marik came running, whirling the titanic steel instrument like a flail.

The first time it hit the capsule nothing happened. Had Marik been in his senses, he would have realized he was crying without realizing it '_Hold on'_ he prayed, as he saw the gentle curve that Nehti's back formed with his hair sinking perilously low_ 'Hold on'._

By the time he managed to flail it a second time, Nehti' s long limbs were starting to curl on the tank floor, much like Atem's dead ones. His hand was reaching upwards in the stance crying for help, his red eyes were closing, and a burst of bubbles flew upwards from his mouth.

"NO!" Marik shouted, and flung the steel arm for the third time. This time, the unbreakable glass cracked.

"Quick, Marik! Once more!" Serenity yelled, and this time, Yugi, 290 and Ryou came to help Marik with their strength. Nehti's precious minutes had almost run out, his eyes having closed almost completely, his mouth left open in a mute plea, when they finally hit the tank for the last time. Water – or whatever that disgusting liquid was – started to decompress violently out of the tank from the cracks of the glass.

"Quick! Get away from it, or else you'll get hurt!" Serenity shouted. Ryou and the others started to back away, but Marik wasn't fast enough. The wretched thing broke before he had the time to move away. He felt himself slip on the fallen water, and then he was sucked in an enveloping current. He tried to cover his eyes, afraid of stray glasses blinding him. And he was right, since a moment later he felt a wave of watery essence hit him from above, along with some of those blasted shards. When he thought the worst was over, however, he heard Ryou's "Watch out!". However, nothing could have prepared him for the dead weight that fell on him a second later, almost choking him.

When the final brunt of the current was over, he tried to open his eyes, but could only see black. He was suddenly reminded when he'd woken up to the white of Bakura's hair, but chose not to reminisce at that inopportune moment.

"Get him off! Quick! We have to hurry!" Yugi was saying, and Marik felt the dead weight be lifted from above him. He soon realized the aforementioned dead weight was, in fact, a very weak, frail, black haired man.

"Quick! " Serenity shouted and crawled over the fallen person, whose body was so weak it allowed itself to be merged with the shape of the ground. As though dead. But Marik didn't want to think about that possibility…

Serenity started pumping Nehti's chest steadily. When that didn't seem to work, she shut his nose and cast CPR on him. Marik stood over her, watching anxiously. It took four, maybe five times for her to succeed, finally. With a choking sound, Nehti coughed up liquid, and kept on coughing until he could breathe freely. Serenity tried to support him, but moved away when Marik crouched over their ancient newcomer.

And just as Marik wanted, just as he'd dreamed from the start, his sun-tanned face was the first thing Bakura coherently saw in his new world. The red eyes were _extreme_ in this state, there was no other way to describe them. He remembered them from his memories of seeing Nehti for that one time when he was a child. Marik now realized that Bakura's red eyes in Ryou's body hadn't been genuine- they had always been a bit blurred- as though glazed over by some blue or purple layer. But this…this was pure, red scarlet. It was utterly crimson, the complete colour of drying blood.

Nehti moved his mouth, as though trying to speak, but nothing came out, even though he tried many times. They were all gathered above him, some smiling, some nearly crying, most just disbelieving. This was like a birth of a new man.

"Welcome…" Serenity smiled brightly, but Nehti seemed so startled by the sudden decibel of her voice that he cringed away, as though trying to become one with the ground, where he was lying.

290 was staring, his eyes wide and unblinking, at Marik's expression as he looked at Nehti. That expression…His own face…did he really look like that when he…when he…loved? He wouldn't know, would he? He'd never loved.

Everyone was so deeply moved, each for their own reasons, that they couldn't speak. Ryou, understanding that the other part of his soul was safe and finally had a chance to be happy, Serenity, for finally having met this mysterious man in person…The only one who carried a residual bleakness was Yugi, his eyes moist and unable to focus, trailing back unconsciously to a blank capsule, where a proud and honest man slept, forever. Why couldn't he have his Darkside as well? Why only Ryou? _Life…life isn't fair, is it…Yami?_

Marik kept staring at Bakura's half-closed, tired blinking eyes, as though _willing_ them to remember him. But nothing came back except a vision of sensual confusion. Marik felt a glum sense of utter disappointment envelop him, even when faced with that shadowed, utterly indecent _redness_ in the other man's eyes. That was until Bakura's sharp orbs closed tiredly, exhausted even more, now, with this war of attrition.

"We have to go!" 290 suddenly started, his voice carrying not a small amount of disguised rejection "This place will self-destruct in twenty five minutes!"

"Oh no!" Serenity gasped, as she watched Marik take his very torn shirt off "What will we do with the GOULS? We have to either fight them to get their chips out, or control them with the Rod, until we're out of here!"

Marik used his shirt as a piece of cloth to cover Nehti's private parts. After he'd tied it around the crow-haired man's narrow hips, he picked Nehti in his arms like a doll and flung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"I say the Rod." Marik stated "At least until we can get out of here. It'll be much faster that way."

"I agree." 290 said, but looked away when Marik frowned at him.

"We can't keep using them like this." Serenity argued, sighing. "where _is_ the Rod, anyway?"

They all looked at Marik, who shrugged with his free shoulder "The X took it away from me when they caught us!"

"You mean you have no idea? Tsk. You're pretty careless, aren't you." 290 now sneered.

Marik made as though to defend himself, but was interrupted by Yugi. "Either way, we're taking Darkside with us, aren't we? To bury him. So we must hurry…"

They all looked at each other, somewhat guiltily. "Yugi…"Marik started, but Yugi glared him down immediately, with blind determination.

"What? Don't tell me you're going to leave him here? I knew you were! You only ever think of Bakura and-" Yugi erupted "Is that how important he was to you! You won't even bury him? He was , he was...a hero! And I'm-..And you don't even underst-"

"Stop it, Yugi!" Marik interrupted, his honest sense of duty overpowering every other sense. Boy, Bakura's help would have been very useful right now. Marik wasn't very good with dealing with this "You know that's not true. I…I cared for your Darkside too; we all did. And it's true that I care about Bakura, and I want to save him if I can- just like Atem. And don't think I don't blame myself for what happened, because I know I should have been there. He's just another ghost following me, now. Another reason I'll go to Hell, probably."

Marik turned towards their friends' fallen body "But even so, I mustn't let myself do the same mistake twice. I have to hurry- we have to hurry and save everyone else, or else more lives will be sacrificed. And I bet that if Atem had a say in this, he'd want us to keep going and save as many of his friends as possible- save Tea. Even if that meant leaving him behind."

Marik took a trembling Yugi's shoulder, in front of a dazzled Serenity and Ryou "I understand your feelings toward him, Yugi, and I want you to understand mine too, that I admired him so deeply that you can never imagine, and that I want to live up to him and what he entrusted in me by killing our worst enemy, at the cost of his life. Do you understand that, Yugi?" Marik solemnly asked, and, at Yugi's tearful nod, grinned slightly, motioned to the others and walked towards the exit of that damned room.

"Be prepared" he aimed the question at 290, mainly "there may be more clones lurking around."

"…Oh joy. I'd forgotten about that. But you had to remind me, didn't you?" the other clone huffed, frowning with crossed arms.

Marik smirked "Can't have your pretty face looking like that. I'd hate to see it bruised, after all." Ironically speaking of his own face, he didn't seem at all displeased at the prospect of 290 being bruised, however. A quick squeeze in his heart told him that he sounded a lot like Bakura, and he stopped right there, because it hurt to think of Bakura, even though he was actually right there, in his arms, more concrete and yet more absent than any other time.

From behind there came Ryou's resounding voice "Hey Serena, are there even more clones?"

Marik truly wanted to fall off a cliff right then. Ryou had only seen 290.

-

When Marik and company exited HQ, they weren't prepared for the carnage they encountered, albeit having seen much gore that night. Apparently, Noa hadn't deemed the clones indispensable to his purposes. Since he didn't control them, he simply had his 'Agents' wipe them all out.

Ryou and Yugi, who hadn't been with them during the fiery events of their long fights against the clones hadn't had any sort of preparation for this vivid image of slaughter. The both threw up, although at different times. As for Marik and Serenity, they didn't have anything left in their stomachs to begin with. 290 didn't even bat an eyelid. The disgusting clone. Marik was sure he had no feelings- or perhaps he did, which was why Marik was so unexplainably irritated by him. He was irritated by the possibility of someone with his face having similar emotions with him, and what that might mean.

Were they the same person? Did they have the same soul…No…Ryou's words came back to mind. No one could steal a person's soul…however, he had stolen the original Marik's personality, against all odds! If only Bakura were here with him…If only…

They were following 290, who was guiding them down the bloody corridors toward the main hall, where the GOULS were gathered. 290, whose face was strangely frozen, as though he had no feelings. Well, he didn't, did he? He was a clone. How had Bakura so eloquently put it, 290 mused. 'He had no soul'.

He'd been staring at the ground, though, so he was surprised when he raised his eyes to meet what lay ahead.

There was a figure, relatively short. 290 didn't think he recognized having seen it in Eruna before, but then again, crazy things had happened that night. What was one more insanity?

"What's that?" Serenity whispered worriedly.

"I think you mean 'who'" Yugi commented, offhandedly.

"He doesn't look like a clone" Marik observed, keeping the shallow, low tone of voice the others preferred to speak in, for fear of alerting the stranger.

"I think it's a kid." 290 whispered, and took another step forward. He saw a golden glint coming from the figure's direction and recognized it immediately "The Rod!" he marveled, and internally debated whether or not to start running towards the stranger.

"True." Marik noncommittally admitted, but recoiled when he saw 290 preparing to run "Wait! Let's not rush…let's keep the element of surprise."

But it was very hard to sneak up to the short person, especially when all they had to work with was a narrow corridor, which only went two ways and which echoed each and every small breath, let alone serious noise.

As they approached their footfalls alerted the unknown child, there was no doubt. However, there was no indication the stranger acknowledged their presence. They had come close enough to see that it was, indeed, a child. Whether it was a boy or girl was debatable, since she or he had long hair, but a strangely lean body. It didn't take much for the small company to realize the child had a mechanic limb, a leg, and, in fact, bits and patches of the skin on his exposed torso were also mechanic.

When they'd come close enough, the child turned towards them, verifying he was a boy and revealing a slightly strange, half-robotic, half-organic face. He didn't seem to be an android, but, rather, a human merged with a robot. It wasn't as monstrous as it could have been, but to see the image of a child mutilated like that was more than hurtful.

The boy's eyes were very big, the colour of onyx graphite, and were perhaps the most notable thing about him. On the other hand, his hair was dingy and eaten away at the edges and his clothes chapped here and there, providing a sort of strange, elastic-looking ensemble of shorts and a torn, sleeveless shirt. However…in his hands he held something not at all dismissible, if the Millennium Rod could qualify for this description.

"I can't believe it…" 290 whispered hoarsely, seeming honestly unable to believe his eyes "I thought it was a legend…"

"What was?" Marik questioned tensely, but 290 didn't answer him.

"…Nii-sama?" the boy suddenly asked, his voice a somewhat melancholy monotone. There was a sense of static there, as though it came out of an old radio or something of the sort. Marik noticed when the boy opened his mouth to speak that his teeth were made of steel.

Ryou blinked and walked forward, looking curiously at the boy. "That's Japanese for 'brother'. I wonder where he heard that…" then he kindly fell to his knees in front of the boy " Nihon kara kita nda no ka? (Do you come from Japan?) " he questioned kindly, and everyone watched as the boy took much time to think the question over, as though registering carefully that someone was talking to him. It seemed as though he hadn't talked in a while.

Marik observed the boy, looking for any sort of indication that the boy knew who they were or who this 'brother' was. It wasn't easy to discern an indigenous Japanese, nowadays. The Japanese had long ago, along with the Chinese and the Korean, lost the exclusivity of their special characteristics, since, with the globalization, the Asians had spread to the whole world and mixed with all other kinds of people. If one carefully thought about it, the Japanese, the Chinese and the 'foreigners' were one and the same.

"Nii-sama…" the boy repeated, as though unable to understand, after all. Ryou made a soft sound of confusion and tried again. The next time, the boy answered quicker.

"Nii-sama…Nii-sama o mita no kai? (Brother…have you seen Brother…)" he looked lost, he looked sad, withdrawn, and lonely…and worst of all, he didn't look alive.

"Ja…(well…)" Ryou started, attempting to pat the poor thing's head and wincing when the boy showed no sign of acknowledgement "Sonna taisetsu na hito o mitsuketai nara, boku to issho ni sagashite kurenai no ka? (Since you want to find such an important person, why don't look for him with me?)" he asked eagerly, watching the boy's noncommittal eyes slip from his face to the floor and back.

"Nii-sama de…shiteru? (Do you know brother?)" the boy finally asked, seeming to consider the offer, which Marik and the others hadn't understood.

Ryou grinned meaningfully " Jitsu wa, ano hito ni tsuite, kimi ni kiku tsumori desu (I was planning on asking you about him, basically.)" he answered, and then hurried to ask the boy's open face "Onamae ga nan da? (what's your name?) " he asked quickly, hoping to gain a straight answer.

"…Mokuba da " the boy answered quietly, and Marik felt his insides freeze, just by the mentioning of that name- the name of the boy who Noa proclaimed was Seto's beloved brother.

"Ryou, what's going on?" Serenity asked, also shocked by that name. Ryou turned towards her and explained "He's probably lost here, but I'm not sure. He's looking for his brother and his name is Mokuba…he's not very talkative, as you can see…I think there may be something wrong with him."

Marik thought that was the understatement of the century, given the boy's half-mechanic condition. "Tell him we know his brother" Marik told instructed Ryou "We'll take him to him."

Ryou seemed perplexed "Will we, really?" he questioned in confusion "How?"

Marik narrowed his eyes in thought and looked at the boy. Shuffling Nehti's weight on his shoulder, he kneeled in front of the boy, who turned to look at him with his undead eyes. Marik noticed he was clutching something with his left hand, the one that wasn't holding the Rod. He was clutching something hanging from his neck…a locket, perhaps, but Marik couldn't see.

"Seto Kaiba" he simply uttered, and watched in justified certainty as the boy's eyes sharpened and focused almost violently, as though something brutal, vicious was kindling beneath them, which was somehow trying to come out to the surface, but unable.

The boy didn't speak, he just looked on, staring at Marik as though mesmerized, onyx graphite metallically sparkling in his eyes, absolutely steeled over.

"…legend..."290 whispered, as he watched the little boy stare at his alter ego with his dead eyes, almost breaking his necklace by clutching so hard.

-

_In the end, whose memory is lost and whose found? _

_Our dreams, like lost futures…under what cherry tree will we meet next time? _

_Will you be waiting for me, as always, or will I find you gone? Whose red, liquid flowers now decorate my hands? Even that which is red and green and pink to me seems black and white. The most clear visions blur behind my eyes and my ears are deaf, still._

_What sweet tourniquet can be wrapped underwater? No! No don't-_

_We…_

_How many are we? I don't understand, yet. Whose consciousness is lost under the glasses and whose found? Whose eyes reflect my emotions best? Which mirror best describes my features? _

_Black and white, my world, and see-through. The red petals seem to me to be black wings and the white only tears. Your warm hands, your breath, nothing's changed and yet everything._

_Even when I die, will anyone remember me? I want…I want to be remembered. Will anyone know my story…?_

_In the never-ending waters, the ripple always is one. The others always fade; there is only one sharp one. Rivers of tears may flow from me and perturb the hidden depths, but still nothing shows on my surface. My waves will cover me- I trust them._

_The centre of the ripple is one and the same. The reaction which starts everything. Once the circle becomes too large, and you stand on its side and not above, you cannot find its centre, its source. There are snippets, there are visions of smaller causes, smaller centres. Ripples, Needs._

…_I loved…_

_Who do you protect from the current? Yourself, or perhaps the ones you love? Why are you sadder when a human dies than an animal? Who cries for an animal? Do other animals cry? What's the difference between my death and that of a mere sparrow?_

_o-ku-_

_you'-ll be v-ery sad-_

_y-ou-_

_Which mirror reflects me best? My memories, like shards, cut me from the inside. I shouldn't. I shouldn't have. tried._

_Drop._

_Drop._

_Drop._

_Checkmate._

_I shouldn't have started it._

_Deep inside, the aspiration of the man. How do I become a man? How do I become a father? How do I become a brother? How do I remain myself? Who am I? _

_Am I?_

_I shouldn't have done it- I didn't realize at that time, what I really had to do, how fast the ripples grow. Where this would take you._

_The ocean's depths, all in your eyes .What colour are they, I never determined. The colour of metal. The colour of pain. Where have you sunk me? Where did you cast your revenge? I never listened to you, did I? Even though I loved…I did…_

_Your favourite trees, why can I not discern their colours. Inside these steel sockets, which mirror can truly see me? What mirror?_

_When I look at it I only see you. Even though you always smile at me, I know I'm not a good father. I know I'm not a good brother. I'm not a good man. I always imagined you'd come to me in my dreams. But the only thing I ever dream of is water. It's quiet._

_I've always thought, the ones who see no colours can only discern red. Blood. They can recognize it._

_I was wrong. _

_In my steel, never-ending sockets, my world, the ripples of my centre sin._

_**Checkmate, Kaiba- san.**_

_**CHECKMATE KAIBA-SAN.**_

_---mok-u…--b-a_

_whose love…? Will fly?_

_White doves, even, seem like tears, in my colourless, never-ending sockets._

_But I was wrong. It's blue, like your brother's eyes that you liked. I only see discern blue._

_-of the ocean--_

_It's quiet. _

_It's the bottom._

-

"Before, you said something about a legend…" Marik mentioned quietly while once more switching shoulders to carry the black haired man's body. His naked torso was in cold sweat from the dingy, humid climate down in Kuru Eruna. He kept feeling Nehti's long hair tickling his back, and was half-tickled, half-warmed by it. Nehti's body was cold, even colder than Marik's exposed torso. His skin, still wet and utterly pale, slipped slickly, but not entirely unpleasantly over the tanned youth's body. He felt Nehti have a spasm more than once, but chose to ignore it as a reflex aftereffect of the electric shocks. However, he hadn't yet made a single sound, not even a growl, or a tired exclamation.

"Yes…" 290 said, shedding a quick glance to the company behind them, where Mokuba's deadened face stared off to the side, as Ryou dragged him along. They were out of earshot. Good. "They've been telling this story in Eruna for a long, long time…" he said, smartly omitting mentioning 'they' were the 'Tomb keepers', knowing it would only serve to aggravate Marik.

"Go on" Marik frowned at him, nevertheless "what kind of story?"

290 grinned slightly and turned to his alter ego "What else? A horror story." He let that trail on ominously as he expertly made a turn in another corridor "The story of the spirit of the Tombs. A little boy always looking for his Brother…he's got metallic nails, and whoever speaks to him will meet his doom, since the boy is cursed…"

Marik felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise on end, but refused to acknowledge his discomfort. Mokuba had had metallic nails…but 290 might as well be messing with him! Damn. Where was the horror-fetished Bakura when he was most needed?

"That's a tad farfetched, don't you think?" Marik commented, and 290 grinned.

"Which part? About the spirit of all those who died in this tomb and now seek revenge or about the doom…?"

"I appreciate the fairy tales, but do you know his real story?" Marik sneered, but 290 didn't smile at him.

"I told you what I've heard. What Noa said about Seto's younger brother wasn't much. Perhaps looking at the boy's current state can help you put two and two together." He finished.

"In what sense do you mean?" Marik inquired, confused. The boy's current situation? Perhaps he meant the fact that Mokuba seemed to have mechanic parts…?

"No worries. You can ask Seto. We're here, already." 290 said, in a tone of finality, and walked faster towards the source of light on the end of the tunnel. He suddenly turned towards Marik, a strange, unidentified expression on his face as his eyes fluttered to Nehti's pale, convulsing form "You seem a bit tired with carrying him…need any help?"

Marik's eyes hadn't narrowed so much ever since he'd talked to Gozaburo. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

290 shrugged, seemingly nonchalant. But Marik knew better than anyone how to decipher his own expressions. 290 was feeling…certainly anything but nonchalant. However, pity was something Marik didn't want himself to feel with this particular person.

"Suit yourself"

-

"Matte (wait)" Mokuba's japanese tone sounded suddenly, exactly five feet away from the main hall, where Seto and the rest of the GOULS expected them.

""Wait a sec" Ryou stopped suddenly, calling to the others "Nanda no ka? Mou jikan ga nai sa… (what is it…we don't have time…)"

Mokuba turned expressionlessly "Nii-sama o mitsuketaso da na…(it seems I've found brother…)" he told a very perplexed Ryou, who just stared at him.

"Kedo, Mokuba-kun…(but Mokuba…)" Ryou started, confused, motioning for a frowning Marik to keep patient "onii-sama no iru tokoro o shinakatta to omotta noni (I thought you didn't know where your brother is…)"

Mokuba smiled, obviously trying to look reassuring, and, honestly, it was the scariest, if not most murderous smile Marik had ever seen. Serenity actually gasped and grabbed Ryou for support.

"So da na…(that's right…)" Mokuba was saying at a deeply troubled Ryou's face "Deeeemo, naaa…anata no kotae ni kiomi ga atta…nii-sama no basho ni tsuite…shita…to ka (but…I was interested in your answer…regarding the place where brother is…did you know , or…) " Mokuba trailed on, making Ryou frown.

"Hoka no hito ni, onaji no kotae o kiita no ka, Mokuba-kun… (have you asked other people the same question, Mokuba?) Ryou asked quietly, and Mokuba smiled again, but didn't answer. He just suddenly tugged on Ryou's hand, pulling him to an alcove to the right, inside what probably once was a laboratory. The rest of the company followed.

"Kite mirou …(come and see)" Mokuba's voice, like a lost whisper…"Nii-sama no uchi o…(brother's house…)"

290 suddenly lurched forward and blocked Mokuba's path "No! Don't follow him! He'll kill you!" he rigidly told Ryou, and the albino took a surprised step back.

"We don't have time for this…" Yugi phrased urgently, but no one listened to him, albeit the computer's warnings that they only had twnety minutes left.

"He's just a boy…what can he do…?" Ryou asked, bewildered.

"Don't follow him." 290 advised, and Ryou seemed torn between the suddenly completely innocent-looking Mokuba and 290's experienced voice. "This is what he does…I've heard all about it…many clones have died this way…."

"Dooshita no…(what's wrong?)" Mokuba asked curiously " nanika nga atta no (did something happen?).

"Betsuni…(nothing…)" Ryou chose the diplomatic way out, as always "jitsu wa, hontou ni jikan ga tarinai, Mokuba – kun…moshi hoka no toki ni onii-sama o tazuneteikeru no (actually, we don't' have enough time, Mokuba. Perhaps I can visit your brother another time…?)"

Mokuba's jaw set sharply, and he turned onyx eyes to 290, who looked at him with an unmoving gaze.

"Noa sent you, didn't he?" he asked the japanese-speaking boy, as though fully confident he understood everything "he sent you to kill even more people."

Mokuba looked on, completely oblivious of what he was being told, or , if one took 290's words seriously, _satanically acting_ as though he didn't understand.

290's eyes suddenly flew to Marik "Let's leave, now." He urgently said, as though afraid of a little child "we shouldn't have said we know his brother! Dammit!"

Marik's eyes narrowed "He's just a boy! What can he do? What is it you know and aren't telling me? Why did we say the wrong thing?" he asked and at 290 dismissive motion, he persisted "I need that Rod!"

290 glared at him "Are you willing to endanger us all?"

"Let's take him to Seto!" Serenity desperately offered, and at the mentioning of the name alone, the boy turned his eerie eyes towards her, the head actually twisting around his neck like that of a doll, so that it was completely unnatural. It had literally twisted 180 degrees, so now he was watching her behind his back. She started to shake, but tried to suppress it.

"Yes, he'll sort it out." Yugi offered his opinion, but 290 shook his head in the negative.

"Seto won't help us. We can't escape this now…the curse…" he started, sighing…obviously desperate "Look, let's just go in the hall…" he made to move, but Mokuba's steel fingers had wrapped around his wrist within seconds.

"You're not going anywhere, Brother." Mokuba said, in flawless English, with a grin that could rival no other in it's satanic innocence, not even Noa's.

290 suddenly turned his eyes to Marik, spelling out only one word. 'Run'.

Marik interpreted it within milliseconds and made as though to start running, but immediately felt something rigid pulling him back. It only took one scream from Serenity to warn him, before he saw Mokuba's _tongue_, utterly metallic and very long, rolled around his wrist.

290 stayed motionless and exchanged looks with the others, warning them with his eyes not to move. He glanced at the motionless Marik and Mokuba.

"You'll be my Brother tonight" Mokuba's voice still sounded, but it couldn't have possibly come from his preoccupied mouth.

Marik turned to 290, who stared first into Marik's eyes and then to the damned Rod. They needed that blasted thing. Marik's only acknowledgement was a slightly erratic breath.

"What…what's wrong with this…this thing…" Yugi started saying, terrified, as he didn't know what to do, whether to run or stay.

"… monster…" Ryou stuttered, stepping back, having blanched completely.

290 sighed slowly and closed his eyes "He's the ghost of all who died here…the spirit of the dead who were tortured…he always looks for his brother…I didn't recall the legend until now, but now I remember…he collects victims as revenge for all the deaths of his loved ones. Every time he meets a man in the tomb, he asks if they've seen his brother. If you answer no, he cries and thanks you, and if you still refuse to help him, he still cries and says you're happy for not knowing his story and torturing him with it. But if you tell him you know who his brother is, or that you'll help him find him, he follows you and then leads you to his room, where he's collected the corpses of his victims, corpses that he calls his brother and sleeps with. After you see this, he asks you if you've seen pain in your life, and, once you answer yes, he pulls your eyes out , since you don't deserve eyesight, if you think you've seen pain."

Serenity whimpered, seeing Mokuba's grin at the rendition of what could only be his true story. "There is a meaning to his actions, I've been told" 290 finished, looking at the small child and sighing "that you shouldn't mock the dead. Because Kaiba Seto is dead in a robot, and is eternally unable to be freed, he's left his dead spirit in his beloved brother's body, in order to take revenge. When you refuse to acknowledge you know the real Kaiba Seto, and understand that the one you know is the abomination Kaiba Seto has become, you will not be punished. But if you are ostentatious enough to believe you know Kaiba Seto, when in truth you know a manufactured droid, the ire of his brother will fall upon you…Kaiba Seto's wrath…"

"How ironic, that Noa made sure to give this ghost the Rod we need so much… we shall not have it, I bet, unless we quench Seto's bloodlust by sacrifice…You see, though we Tomb Keepers use Kaiba fearlessly, Seto' s soul haunts us always in payback, as though we were the ones that did this to him…_In order to relieve the undead spirit of revenge, a tomb keeper must die_…" 290's eyes slipped slowly to Marik…"either you or I…"

In the dead silence, where Serenity could even feel her every breath be drawn out of her body, she felt something like a luminous ghoul hover. Maybe this was it…the haunting of all those souls which Kaiba represents…that blue eyed, silver-white spirit which flies to you at night and steals your breath. It haunts and takes you far away, in the land where the spirits live alone. And amongst them, their king…that tall man, who guides them…that man with fearsome eyes, that ruler who heartlessly watches from above his blue layers. There is a little boy looking for him, but destined never to find him. Even when they are near, the boy never approaches, as though unwilling to meet what his brother has become…

"It is useless to try and escape …this is a cyborg. Human-turned-machine" 290 explained, looking at Mokuba's sparkling eyes "It can transform into a gigantic robot, like the X, only it has double the IQ and ten times the creativity in murder. The greatest problem, however, is that it has feelings…it understands…and yet doesn't understand, because the consciousness of all those victims is heartless, and a man as proud as Seto has a spirit which never feels mercy…"

No one dared to move. No one dared to even breathe. They thought they heard a squall of wind drift by, and they turned to the doorway to the main hall. It couldn't be a coincidence, or perhaps Marik's influenced mind control which had brought him here, but Seto Kaiba stood there. Thin, proud and strong. And robotic. So very robotic.

Oh, and look, the irony! Around the thick pillar of his straight neck hung his own symbol of payback. The same locket which adorns his beloved brother's chest. Seto's was open, a picture of a happy, human Mokuba very vivid inside it.

Two parts of the same soul. One soul, one consciousness…the dead…or perhaps Seto and Mokuba's grudge.

Alight on the head of that dark shadow, which smiles eternally down at the aggressor, glow like gems the twin blue eyes, dark, deep and brutally crystal –consuming and bottomless like the pit of the ocean. They stare eternally from above, taller than everyone, stronger than all. They stare, as always, robotically, unable of any other stare, as Mokuba- that questionable ghost that roams the halls- commits his will. And Seto, strong, tall and unable to act for himself, stands there unmoving, unblinking, unflinching, as the last vestige of his rotting real existence eats human meat to live, and searches for its brother. Is he the older? Is he the younger?

290's eyes lowered. He never thought it was the truth- this grudge which his elder had been so fond of talking about. In the dark halls of Kuru Eruna, at night and day alike, young 290 had always feared the eternal guardian would come for him…But then again, the young _brother_ never came for a young clone…he always visited when the victim was twenty one years old. Twenty one.

Like Seto had been…

Seto, whose grudge now hovers above them even though they are innocent. He should logically be able to understand, able to forgive. But even though he stands right there, he understands nothing. And Mokuba, Seto's real will, he deosn't even _want_ to understand. He was meant to have no mercy, and whoever made him was heartless enough to be very good at his job. No way out. No way of pleading. No way of fighting.

But Marik had seen…that spark of strange confusion igniting in this creature's heartless eyes at the sight of the newcomer…it did have emotions after all…Perhaps there was a way to break Mokuba's cold exterior. Even right now that Seto had approached, Mokuba had his eyes fixed on him, as though fighting to recognize him. There was a spark of _something_ in that heartless onyx, when faced with anything to do with Seto, much more with Seto himself. It was as though Mokuba knew who Seto was, but simultaneously didn't want to recognize him as Seto.

Marik suddenly had an idea! How hadn't he thought of it before? The way Mokuba froze whenever someone mentioned Seto…the way Mokuba was looking at Seto right now, as though fighting to see him through a foggy dream…Marik suddenly realized the key to Mokuba's weakness: he was a little boy, after all. Just like Noa, a lonely child, who needed to be loved. Turning to look at a certain untamable CEO, Marik understood perfectly what he had to do.

"Seto, come give your little brother a hug." He simply said, and all watched in fascination as Seto, staring at Marik with a very strange expression, walked confidently towards the boy, controlled by Marik. In the meantime, the more Seto approached, with his sapphire eyes glittering not-so-robotically, the more Mokuba slackened his hold of 290 and Marik.

Marik felt uncomfortable. He knew he had settled an order and was controlling Seto through mind control, but, strangely enough, it didn't _feel_ like Seto was obeying him…It was as though he was acting on his own will, using Marik's issued orders as a catalyst.

With his blue eyes half-closed and his jaw slack in a very uncharacteristic expression, without a single word, Seto walked up to a startled Mokuba and lowered to the boy's height. Marik could have sworn, right then, that he saw tears in Mokuba's eyes at that moment. But, really, how could a machine cry? When Seto reached for Mokuba, the boy reached for him as well and Marik wondered, offhandedly, whether the room had suddenly grown brighter.

"Nii –sa…ma…" Mokuba's staticky voice whispered, his eyes frantically flying from one part of Seto's metallic body to another. He reached out, too, moving as though to touch Seto's hand. His eyes flew from Seto's locket to his eyes, possibly not understanding, possibly truly unable to express what he was feeling.

"Nii-sa…" the little boy's voice faded, as though unable to finish. Marik didn't issue any command then, but Seto said something nonetheless. None of them heard what it was, not even Serenity, who was standing the closest to the brothers. But whatever it was he said, Mokuba smiled through his tears, and it wasn't a malicious, or horrendous smile. It was sweet, and true, and wonderful, and everyone felt that it filled the dark corridor with light.

Yugi wondered, watching Mokuba and Seto's cold fingers touch, if that smile was the one that had made this boy so important to his brother. It seemed, even though Yugi could see that Seto wasn't smiling, that his blue eyes were warming from the inside.

"Mokuba…" was that really Kaiba's voice? It sounded different than ever before. Louder , somehow…more concrete…more original.

"Nii..sa…" and with those disjoint syllables, as if they were his last words, Mokuba seemed to freeze in place, like a layer of stone had covered him. His limbs froze, his eyes still wide and left unblinking. His hand was outstretched with his fingers not quite having reached to clasp Seto's hand. The blue eyed man, on his part, didn't move either. He just stayed there, with his arm unnaturally kept in front of him, statuesque.

Mokuba's movement had been in slow motion. It was as if he would remain eternally stretched, trying to reach the other, but never managed. When the little boy stopped moving altogether and stayed that way for a long moment, Marik carefully stepped between them, followed closely by Yugi. The spiky haired youth bent down to the two brothers' level and watched Mokuba's stony face. Nothing moved, not even an eyelash. Only a tear slipped solemnly from one of his wide, hoarse eyes. As for Seto, his face remained poised in a hopeful gaze. Was it the connection of two souls, or maybe the mockery of something warm and real? Were the tears on Mokuba's cheeks warm, or cold and steel? Were they human, or not? Yugi didn't want to touch them, feeling that he'd be polluting something pure.

They had to hurry, however, since Nehti was beginning to become a torture on Marik's shoulders, although the youngster was extremely light. In fact, Marik didn't even want to think about how light he was, or how slick his exposed skin felt. That smell that came from the unconscious ancient- that disturbing scent of medicine left in a place for too long. Like this, in Marik's arms, he felt like a dead doll, a worn suit- he didn't feel very human. Whenever Marik remembered his startling red eyes, he thought he heard someone let out a long breath…

Marik, seeing the Golden Rod held in Mokuba's hands, broke from his reverie, and remembered the fact that they had to hurry. After he waved a hand in front of Mokuba's eyes several times, and tried not to let himself be caught by the expressive, ironically robotic, faces, he slowly extracted the Golden Rod from Mokuba's hands.

Once he stood up he exchanged a look with 290, and both nodded in assessment. They had to leave. Marik called for the others to follow him as he progressed towards the main hall. A tearful Ryou, Serenity and Yugi followed him, and a slightly more skeptical 290.

Marik turned around to make sure everyone was coming and saw Kaiba still kneeling, frozen in that same position. He looked down, at the Rod in his hands, and then at Kaiba. Should he…prompt Seto to come with them? Or perhaps he should be left here, to sink with Kuru Eruna, finally freed? It was true that Seto symbolized the entire logic of Kuru Eruna- the logic of destroying human nature. Should Seto be left here…along with his brother…to be destroyed and lost to oblivion? On the other hand, Kaiba was recognized as the owner of the greatest pharmaceutical company in the galaxy…there were many things that Kaiba could do- good things- by using his power…

But then, Mokuba's face…all that grief…

'I can't make that choice…' Marik finally decided 'Even if Seto isn't a man, I can't seem to be able to not treat him like one..' he decided. He wanted to leave this choice up to Seto. Even though he knew that if he used mind control on the GOULS to get them out very fast, Seto would also follow, he wanted to convince himself it would be Seto's choice, whether to leave or not…

"Ten minutes until self-destruction" the familiar voice of the computer declared, and Marik was brought back to reality when the others started running towards the main hall.

"Quick!" 290 was saying "Now that Noa's systems are down and there's R8, I'm afraid it's practically impossible to get out of here!"

"You're telling us this _now_?" Ryou asked, exasperated, as he ran towards the end of the corridor. 290 shrugged and refused to answer. The next time anyone spoke was when they finally reached the hall, where the symbols on the walls were glowing red and the GOULS were aimlessly walking around.

They all heard echoes of strange, unearthly groans from the corridors, so when Serenity asked what was happening and what new monster had come to haunt them, 290 told her that the Sleepers in the cryo-capsules had all been awakened as a measure of Noa's breakdown…they were practically dying, now, in their capsules. Serenity felt her hair raise, remembering those stony faces. "Shit!" Marik swore, seeing that the exit on the end of the hall was, unsurprisingly, sealed.

"Maybe you can use the GOULS to break the doors down!" 290 proposed.

"Are you crazy? They're human, just like us. They can't!" Marik immediately argued "Besides, I don't want to use them like that!"

"At least I proposed _something_." 290 distastefully said.

"Well, someone else, then…" Yugi started "Use Kaiba! He's made of metal!" but Marik shook his head again. Serenity, however, answered before he could speak.

"Who knows what may happen if Kaiba leaves Mokuba's side!"

Everyone stayed silent. They approached the door, inspected every part of it, actually tried to make the GOULS help push it, but to no avail! They had no laser to break through it…

This commotion continued, until 290 became very silent all of a sudden, and turned to Marik.

"There may be another way…" he started, and Marik didn't much like that reluctant tone of his voice "There is a trigger in one of the symbols to open the doors manually…But one of us has to…stay behind. In order to ensure that the doors stay open until all the others are outside…"

Marik narrowed his eyes and shook his head "Not an option".

290's intense glare silenced his protests, however "Listen to me. I know this place. And I know there is no way for you to exit that door. At least not in the next five minutes…Look, there's no time to talk…you have to leave and I…I'm…"

"No!" Serenity shouted "you can forget about it right now! I'm not letting anyone else sacrifice themselves! Not even someone who I don't know that well!"

"That's right!" Yugi agreed, and Marik knew of whom he was thinking, behind his violet moist eyes "Enough people have died!"

"I'm…" 290 started, and his eyes first went to Marik, then to the unconscious Nehti "I'm glad I met you…"

Marik was becoming angry "stop talking like you're going to die! You're not!"

"Three minutes until self-destruction" the computer urgently warned, and everyone felt their hearts speeding up even more.

"…tell Bakura…" 290 started, looking at the ground, and then quickly raised his face to look at Marik's eyes, so identical with his and yet so different "that I'm grateful" and with those last words, he turned around and ran to one of the chamber walls, searching for a symbol. Marik and Ryou had started to run behind him, to stop him, but when 290 pressed a specific symbol on the wall, they heard a resounding noise, like the shake of an earthquake, and turned to see the numerous doors leading to their freedom slide open.

"GO!" 290 was shouting "get the hell out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without you!" Marik yelled, not acknowledging how a strange pattern was beating in his heart and how his eyes seemed to sting.

"If I let go of this button, the doors will close!" 290 countered.

"Then let's leave something in your place to keep it pushed! I don't know! A stick?" Ryou reasonably offered.

"No! There's nothing!" 290 shouted, shaking his head, and Marik got the sick feeling that the clone…wanted this.

"I…"290 was saying "I'm a clone…and this is my home…" he looked at the ground, then at Nehti, strangely "I...my place is here…" he turned to Marik "I'm glad I had the chance to meet you. I understand why you're different from us…I…I really admire you…if there's something I want, is for you to think of me as I think of you, so I'm going to do something special. I need…I need to do this…"

Marik was strangely silent, within all this frantic commotion. He looked at 290, his twin, saw his determined, pleading eyes and once more wished Bakura were here. He recognized his own desperate face reflected back at him, and felt his heart constrict.

"MARIK! We need to go!" Serenity screamed from the other side of the room, but Marik was still looking at 290. Waiting.

"Go." The clone whispered, and Marik's brows furrowed. He understood that need. The need to be a man for yourself. The need to believe in something. To belong. To know you are special in yourself... Marik didn't think any other clone would do what 290 was doing. He didn't even know if the original Marik would do it…this is why he respected it as something individual: the choice of a soul.

Marik slowly turned around, still thoughtful, ignoring Ryou and Yugi's calls for 290 to change his mind "Go!" Marik shouted, forcing his telepathy in the Rod, directing it only where he wanted it to go. Only the GOUOLS were affected by it, not 290, who looked on, his hand on the button, smiling slightly in a sad way.

"GET OUT!" Marik shouted, and he watched in a flurry of movement as all the roaming GOULS sparked to life and started running towards the exit.

"One minute to self-destruction." The computer's voice echoed ominously, somehow magnified in their frantic thoughts. In the hurricane of movement, Marik didn't recognize who was who. He saw the reluctant Ryou and Yugi leave 290 sides with twin remorseful looks, he saw some familiar faces running. Joey…Serenity…Pegasus…they were all running out the door and down the endless final corridor, which would normally also have other doors diving it in sections.

Marik turned and gave 290 a final look, seeing that look of pride on his face. Once he turned to leave, last of all, he heard 290 voice, identical to his own.

"Marik…" he called, and the tanned youth turned. He caught the thing 290 threw at him, and recognized it as a small mechanic remote "It neutralizes all GOUL chips." 290 finished, with a small, sad smile "Tell them I'm sorry".

Marik felt his face twist in a smile too, and he knew it was the same as the one he was seeing on the other "Thanks…" and now, staring deep into the other's eyes "…Marik"

290 blinked, and the last thing Marik saw of him, was his reserved grin of triumph and his solemn tear, the sign he had finally gained what his important person had wanted of him: a soul. As Marik ran, he thought he saw somewhere the stone gaze of two metallic eyes, the smile of a small child who looked for his brother, but it was all lost in his desperate effort.

"Ten"

He ran threw the door, not looking back, not daring to lose even a moment.

"Nine"

He felt his muscles almost breaking with the strain of running so fast with someone else's weight on his shoulders.

"Eight"

He saw the light as though in a dream. It was a hatch on the top of a metallic ladder.

"Seven"

He shuffled Nehti on his shoulders and prepared to climb up, egged on by the cries and cheers of his friends for above, who were stretching their hands towards him. Marik started climbing, and he blindly grabbed the first hand he could reach for. The swirling colours in Yugi's eyes filled his vision as he was roughly pulled up.

"Four"

Suddenly, as he looked at their hands, as though in slow motion, he saw that the others were holding him too, all their hands, together…joined.

"Three"

He couldn't hear anything else. He couldn't hear the countdown anymore…he just heard the thuds of his beating heart, and what seemed like a breath- a sigh…maybe it came from Nehti. He couldn't hear anything until a huge booming sound. Suddenly, the ground started quaking violently and they all fell from their feet.

The silence lasted for an eternity, as he let himself fall down from the vibration. There was light everywhere, suddenly. The hatch on the floor, like a volcano, erupted suddenly, spitting fire upwards, and Marik swiftly grabbed the hated golden rod and tossed it inside, to burn for eternity.

He swore he saw something white flowing upwards from the fire, like strings from some spirit's long gown. An onyx rainbow flashed somewhere. and then he saw someone run up to the crater, but couldn't recognize them, since their figure was haloed by light.

He saw, however, that the hatch door closed suddenly, trapping all the fire inside, and he knew that, somewhere, a button had been released by a man with a sad smile. Nehti, who'd fallen to his side, had the lights reflecting off his pale skin, and he groaned lightly, trying to regain his senses but failing still.

"Marik, here..." Serenity said, and handed Marik a dark cloak, which she draped over his naked shoulders. He didn't speak, just stood there and stared on, watching as the totem of all his hate and torture…watching as the pedestal- the monument of the deaths of so many innocent people was being burnt to ashes beneath him.

With a sense of importance, he looked at the remote resting in his hands, and pressed the button which read "Release". After a few moments, a dozen confused cries echoed around them, some of familiar and some unfamiliar voices. He heard Serenity's cry of "JOEY!" but never managed to understand much of it. He felt something warm on his shoulder and recognized Rishid's comforting large palm…And then there was Yugi hugging a crying Tea…

The blond youth's lavender, crystal eyes didn't even move…they only kept staring forward, at that now inconspicuous hatch on the floor. The tall figure standing above it turned around slowly. There were two lockets hanging from his neck, both half open.

The last thing Marik saw, before he finally fell unconscious, were oceanic blue eyes

He smiled.


	21. Open Doors

**HIYA! Thanks for reviewing! I'm back! This is the next chapter, which I think is my favourite in the whole story! Kura wakes up...ooohh...he's hot! Lotsa attmepts (failed) at humour and some mushiness. Also, many surprises!**

**Please review when you can!**

**Actually, I always thought everyone would give up on me, in the end! This is highly ironic, because I, myself, rarely stick to a WIP, especially oneas long and tedious as this! I admire y'all! Thank you! I promise to update again ASAP! (i want to know the continuation too, ya know). The good thing with this story is that it's practically a 600 page novel, so ifone starts it now, I'll probably finish it before one can reach the end!**

"Shhhhh! He's waking!"

"Be quie-"

"You can't be serious!"

"Finally"

"SHHHHHHHH!"

Ugh…wha-… what the… 

"Marik. Marik can you hear me?"

A little too loud, actually… 

"Serena, let him breathe…Marik, you okay?"

It took a great effort to make his eyelids move. He felt like he wouldn't be able to see, even if he did manage to open them, somehow. The previously muted voices were now becoming discernible sounds, although hushed. Marik felt something refreshing and lukewarm be spread on his forehead. The sticky feeling of general discomfort was relieved a little bit.

"Ughh…"

There were no other encouraging voices; only an expectant silence which greeted Marik as he opened his eyes. Above him, hallowed by light and swirling around was the face of one elated Serenity Wheeler.

"Welcome back." She quietly said, her auburn eyes sparkling in a way he'd never seen before with her, not even when she was with Ryou. And speaking of Ryou, Marik almost had a heart attack when he saw the albino's smiling face next to Serenity's. It was a face so deeply connected with Bakura in his mind –and quite logically so- that his chest hurt when he reminded himself that…Bakura was in this body no more. Not only that, but Bakura had never smiled as radiantly as Ryou.

With that thought, like a hurricane, came condensed all the recent happenings his brain had conveniently stored away to let him sleep. Thoughts of the lost Game King assaulted him, thoughts of Kaiba and Mokuba' s pained expressions. Thoughts of a clone, who had died for them…

"Master." Was heard a voice from somewhere outside the frame, and Marik reflexively smiled in response at Rishid' s worried tone.

"Al' right ol' boy?" the tanned youth tried to say, but it came out hoarse and dry, so much so that he didn't even recognize his own voice. He wanted to tell Rishid to shut up with calling him 'Master', but he really had no strength.

"Well, it looks like Marik-boy had a bit too much to drink…" someone said, whose voice Marik didn't recognize very well. He was aided, however, when a couple of annoyed groans echoed around –one of them unmistakably Yugi's- and said "Shut _up_, Pegasus."

"Marik…" Serena was looking at him worriedly, patting the towel on his forehead "Marik. How many are these?" she asked, and Marik would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the clichéd question if he could actually discern the number of fingers she was holding up.

"Umm…six?" he ventured, not really sure he could still see at this point, let alone count the correct number of fingers. He only knew there was something soft and comfortable lying under his liquefied body, and that was enough. Ryou covered his snickers with a discrete cough, and Serena shook her head.

"Oh man, this ain't looking too good…" said a voice that Marik _definitely _didn't know. He didn't even have enough energy to be startled when an insanely smiling blond face swam into his vision " Whazzup down there! Me Tarzan, you Jane! Want candy?"

Marik blinked.

"Who is this nutcase?" he aimed the question at no one in particular, but the fuzzy mop of blond in front of him, which wasn't all that recognizable, didn't seem to mind. It took a moment for Marik to fully register what the aforementioned offer had been, and he blinked once again. "What kind of candy?"

"HA!" the lunatic declared triumphantly, throwing a fist in the air and wreaking havoc on poor Marik's entangled senses, by shaking the narrow bed "I _knew_ it! He's just playin' with ya! One mentioning of candy and he completely wakes up!" the blond idiot was shouting, making everybody laugh, while Serenity shook her head disapprovingly.

"Brother! You're killing him! Give the man some air!" Serena crossed her arms and huffed, but even through his haze, Marik could see her happiness wide and clear. When Marik's retarded brain managed to put two and two together about this guy's identity, however, he groaned.

"Chill, will ya? I know I'm hot, but he's not suffocating from my hotness. Yet." Joey was loudly proclaiming, brown eyes flaring and all. This time, a vein definitely popped in Marik's gauge-wrapped forehead.

"Okay, that's it!" the tanned youngster declared, now loud and clear, as he suddenly sat up and pushed Joey's grinning face away from him.

"What the-- HEY!" was heard the detached protest, as a thud signified Joey's collision with the floor. Marik, now somewhat irritated, was trying to steady his head and stop the world from whirling around so fast.

"Joey Wheeler!" was heard the unmistakable high-pitched _abomination of all sound_, and Marik almost groaned along with Joey as Mai marched in the room, followed by her squealing female offspring "Come here this instant! You promised you'd leave Serena tranquil for a while!"

Had he not been utterly disoriented and dizzy, Marik may surely have laughed with the picture of Joey, following a laughing Mai like a punished little puppy with the tail between his legs.

"Stray mutt." Marik heard the familiar bored baritone and almost barked out guffawing at Kaiba Seto's clearly disgusted expression.

"Socializing, Kaiba?" Marik questioned sarcastically, and watched, still laughing, as Kaiba's face shriveled in distaste and he exited the room. Kaiba may be a robot on some aspects, but he still generally acted as a human. After all, he wouldn't have fooled anyone if he were a hundred percent robotic.

Marik was still shaking his head when a smirking Pegasus left the room, after Kaiba. Poor Peg. He probably didn't know his idol was a droid!

Marik finally managed to establish a good look around him and smiled by what he saw. All those familiar faces, condensed in a narrow space, which pronounced them even more. They were all there: Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Rishido, Lena, Rika, Kenji, Serena, Ryou…all of them. Their faces were smiling down at him, but he couldn't help but notice most of them had red-rimmed, dry eyes with dark circles. They were all tired, no doubt…and Marik didn't even want to think about the reasons why they'd been sad, since he knew that he'd break down more violently than anyone else…However, he couldn't help but notice…

"Where's Taichi?" he simply asked, and watched as their warm expressions closed up. They didn't say anything, probably didn't dare, but…"I see" he opted to finish, aware of how stupid he probably sounded.

Suddenly, however, as though jarred to reality from a pleasant dream, a brutal flash of red came to his mind and he all but shouted "Bakura! Bakura! Where is he?"

Ryou calmed him by pressing on his shoulders and the others, seeing his suddenly hoarse face, all but launched into explanations.

"In the other room-"

"Don't worry-"

"He's alive-"

"_Don't worry"_

Exhausted by the pressure of his concern alone, Marik felt the muscles of his back strain, and he soon found himself falling back supine, with Ryou's gentle hands as a cushion. He let out a long, drawn out sigh of relief. He didn't know anything, and all his strength was slowly abandoning him. But, even through his swiftly approaching exhaustion, he found the will to ask "Where are we? How many days have I been like this?"

Serenity smiled at him, warmly "At my house and Joey's. Five days."

And with those reassuring words, Marik finally let himself go, seeing Rishid's reassuring face wink at him. The last thing he saw and heard was Ryou's porcelain face and his "Rest, Marik…". The blond imagined he saw those albino eyes flashing deep red, but he soon realized it was a trick of the light, and nothing more.

-

It took another three days for him to fully recuperate, waking up and abruptly fainting at regular intervals. He was visited by different people at different times, and he managed more than once to earn a bit of useful information about what was happening out there while he was shut in.

Pegasus had left for Mercury along with Lena, Rika and Kenji, who had repaid him for this small favour in who knows what way- Pegasus was a bit of a pervert, truth be told. In Mercury they were planning to break the news to Taichi' s parents and have a small funeral for him. They seemed to want to forget the whole story, never wanting to see Kaiba or anyone else again. Marik could understand that, and respected their choice, although he felt a tad wronged. They hadn't seen the horrors he'd seen after all…but, still, he couldn't judge them.

He'd also found out that the others were mostly in a state of healing. Joey, who Marik learned to honestly _adore_ as a constantly perky guy, had a cast around one of his arms –courtesy of Bakura- from when he'd fought as a Mind Slave. Serenity, Tea and Yugi also had several bandages in various parts of their bodies, mainly exposed limbs. Naturally, Ryou, whose body had been completely abused by Bakura during that hellish night, had managed to wake up fully a day before Marik.

The tanned youth now knew he was located in Joey's hut of a house, somewhere in the Earthian Catacomb ghetto. He had been subjected to the horrors of Mai's, honestly disgusting, cooking and had teased her with Joey about it more than once. He'd also had a field trip out of playing different card games with Joey's alarmingly intelligent son, who Marik had re-baptized 'Big Bad Rascal', due to his obsession –and talent- with cheating in absolutely _everything_.

However, Marik wasn't able to walk yet, since his sense of equilibrium and balance had not been fully restored. Apart from a broken –luckily not deformed- nose, a severely bleeding shoulder –victim to laser attack- and various brutal bites –from little clone teeth- on all the expanse of his body, it appears he had fallen victim to a cranium fraction, which, obviously, was not as relenting as the rest of his superficial wounds.

Seeing as the Catacomb ghettos did not enjoy the privileges of the upper classes when it came to medicine and health, Marik's revival took much longer than it originally should have and was based mainly on self-healing by rest rather than actual pharmaceutical support. Hell, maybe it was better this way—Marik had seen what medicine could do. Images of people in glass laboratories came to mind, and he felt his skin crawl.

These thoughts often led to the other part of Marik's new life, the less congenial and bright side. At night, when the lights were down and his room empty, he often let tears fall, for different reasons each time. For Dark Yugi, who was a good man so contrary to evil Gozaburo that his very body rejected the intruder; for Mokuba, whose eyes were unblinking and stony, while his lonely tear fell; for Seto, who now lived only as a cyborg, unmoving until Marik issued a next command…for 290, who Marik didn't think of as '290' any more, or as 'a clone', but rather as 'my brother…my twin'. He'd cried about his twin many, many times. He'd cried about himself just as much. About his dead sister, his mother…his murderous father, who was also a victim of his own jealousy.

And last of all, he cried, probably more than for any other reason, for the one he loved. For the memories which had, undoubtedly, been erased. Bakura was in the room next to his, he'd been told this. And yet, that man wasn't Bakura. He might have had Bakura's real body but Marik was sure, even though anxious to meet him, that Nehti wasn't the same man as the Bakura he'd loved. In fact, Marik didn't even think that he felt the same way about Nehti as he thought he once did. Bakura…Bakura had died. His memories were all lost, and since they didn't exist…he wouldn't be the same man. No. He wouldn't be. Even though he couldn't help but hope for a miracle, Marik knew that he couldn't feel the same way about Nehti, if he didn't have Bakura's memories…his personality…which he surely didn't.

He'd learnt, from Serena, that Ryou had been sleeping on Nehti 's side day and night- that he was frantic he'd lose the other half of his soul, just like Yugi, who now had seemingly lost that spark of childish happiness. Marik had noticed it as well, that though Yugi and Tea behaved as they usually did, in general, they lapsed into silence more often than not, and became withdrawn form each other and everyone else. Yugi had cried without realizing it more than once.

Ryou had visited once or twice, but he was always exhausted. Pale and with dark circles framing his eyes, the albino's face was actually too hurtful to look at, for Marik. He'd preferred it if he didn't see Ryou altogether, actually, and he had a feeling Ryou knew it. In fact, though Marik was reluctant to even accept he was thinking it, he'd have probably preferred if Ryou didn't exist in his life altogether now, now that his face was a constant reminder of what Marik…what Marik had lost.

The day he finally managed to get up and walk, he'd collapsed a moment after taking a few steps, but at least now they were all sure he'd be okay, no matter how long it took. A few days afterwards, when Marik had finally managed to take that long-awaited bath by himself, he turned to the mirror and almost screamed in fright by what he saw.

This creature was definitely not him. Rishid had been worrying about him and telling him to eat more, but this was just horrendous. His cheeks had been sucked in, letting show the entire skeletal structure of his skull. It had been eleven days, summed up, ever since they'd escaped Kuru Eruna, and though his muscles hadn't had time to slacken just yet, he was actually very perturbed by the transformation of his body. Ever since Rewind 1 had begun, there was a dramatic difference in his diet and exercise program. Let's just say…there hadn't _been_ a program.

Therefore, he couldn't understand how that skeletal thing in front of him, which had lean but extremely pronounced muscles pumping with each move, could ever be his body. He didn't like it. If possible, he looked even more slim and lean than usual, lack of body fat now extreme. That wasn't attractive. His face looked like one of those aliens from Hurag, who were eternally teased because of that alarming thinness. He quickly resolved to become his normal, dashing self.

Prompted by this sudden revelation about himself, he begun to realize how much the others had changed as well. Namely, he realized he couldn't clearly remember how they'd all been a month ago, when the ordeal started, since he'd grown so used to seeing them all dirty, exhausted, thin and stingy that he couldn't recall the women's original, fresh and fleshy states and the men's initially broad smiles! Ryou had changed too…oh he'd changed all right. He'd grown from lean and creamy to rock hard and skeletal. Serenity, who initially retained that natural beauty which goes with young, robust women, had now been reduced to a ghost of herself. Yugi and Tea… Marik couldn't even bear to think about them.

He was so absorbed by his thoughts when he came out of the small bathroom, that it took time for him to realize everyone was gathered in the sitting room, downstairs. He dressed slowly, careful not to strain his newly retrieved strength, and carefully descended the stairs to the sitting room. He could hear voices talking, all hushed, and wondered if this was some 'secret gathering' designed to be kept away from him.

What actually awaited him, however, was another story.

"Well see who decided to grace our presence." Kaiba's disinterested voice wrung, and Marik shot him a glare for announcing his presence so openly. Unfortunately, Marik's mind control when it came to Kaiba was partly uncontrollable, so he regretted it when Kaiba shut his mouth a little too unnaturally, with an annoyed expression.

The deed had been done, however, and Marik's plans for sneaking up to the discussion were horribly thwarted, since everybody turned around to greet him. Joey and Mai, however, who had had their backs turned to him, didn't realize that, by turning, they actually revealed what sat opposite them.

At Marik's undignified stumble, Rishid rushed to assist, and the tanned youth was thankfully saved from further mortification, which would have been only consequential to a fall form the stairs.

"Marik!" the Rascal shouted, and hopped up and down, while Tristan came to help him. Experiencing the sensation of blushing was not something Marik had missed, since he was very inexperienced with it and had only been forced under it when under Bakura's scrutiny. But how could he not blush, when everyone had suddenly rushed to help him, as though he was some handicapped little lady, all the time while he was being watched by _those eyes_.

Oh yes. _He._ Apparently, no one had thought it pliable to inform Marik that this was in fact, as he later discovered, the day when those red eyes opened to greet the world again. Bakura, or perhaps, Nehti, was sitting there on the couch next to Ryou, utterly statuesque, his skin stark yellow-white when compared to his dark blue attire and black, raven locks, which lay like ribbons around him. His red eyes were narrowed in a frown –this was probably their innate condition- and his snobbish stance was so sharply reminiscent of Ryou's Darkside that for a wild moment Marik heard his own heart pounding and thought "It's _him!_"

His humiliation continued mercilessly, as he was forced to answer various different inquires as to how he was feeling, why he was flushed –this made him flush even _more_, of course- if he felt weak at the knees, whether he'd eaten or not. He didn't want to start snapping at them all, since he knew they were doing it out of concern, but, really, a man could only take so much. Bakura's eyes were piercing him already, sharp and stinging as they obviously scanned him from top to bottom, as though assessing his status, somehow. Immediately, Marik remembered his previous worries about his withered charms –or at least the charms he _thought_ were withering- and intensely regretted not having worn anything better, or his jewelry, or…well.

"I'm fine…Really, I'm fine." He said the last bit a bit louder than necessary, and a concerned Tea, catching his drift, took her queue to leave him alone. Nehti didn't say a single word, though their staring match had honestly started to turn a tad juvenile.

"Hey man!" Joey started trying to break the ice, and Marik noticed that the uncomfortable look didn't become him one bit "We were just thinkin' of comin' ta getcha! The-"

"Come _on_, Menace!" Big Bad Rascal rudely interrupted, and started to pull at Marik's hand "I wanna show you the new kitchen droid I made! You promised you'd-"

"Don't interrupt your father! Now apologize and shut up, like a good boy." Mai advised in a most unorthodox way, but Marik chose to see it as Joey rubbing off on her. The tanned man's eyes slipped from one speaker to the other, but his attention always stayed focused on his peripheral vision, where two red eyes didn't seem to want to leave him alone. He was forced to remind himself not to let his heart thud, because this man wasn't Bakura. He wasn't! He was just a weirdo, who seemed to be observing each of Marik's reactions to the other people, as though Marik was an immensely interesting specimen. The blond, from his part, tried his best to remain carefully neutral in everything.

Suddenly, Ryou took his queue to speak. Everyone was quiet as he took it upon himself to introduce his 'friend'.

"Marik. I'm glad you're here. This is my cousin, Nehti." Ryou politely introduced. He'd stood up, and Nehti had stood with him, albeit, Marik noticed, a tad shakily. Long black tresses tossed out of his vision, Nehti assumed a pose of general indifference as he stood. Within the uncomfortable silence, Marik was burdened with the reluctance to say something, only he didn't know what. He contemplated looking straight in Nehti's eyes but thought better of it, nearly blushing at the mere thought. Did this man remember anything…? Did he know…

Suddenly, with the whooshing sound of a cape through the wind, Marik felt something sharp grab his jaw and raise it from where he'd lowered his face. His surprise came suddenly, but was almost simultaneously followed by the nervous fluttering in his stomach and the pounding of his heart.

"Nethi!" Ryou's startled voice sounded. Apparently no one had expected it, since they all gasped. Nehti's face had come about an inch from Marik's, his none-too-gentle grasp forcing Marik's face upwards. Unashamedly, Nehti took his mighty time observing Marik's face, the reverted amethyst eyes, the bobbing Adam's apple…Marik, annoyed with himself for being such a wuss but unable to force himself push Bakura –_Nehti, it was Nehti—_away, just stayed there, unflinching and unmoving, as Nehti's extremely pale face and huge eyes perused him like today's menu.

Nehti just held on to him without saying a word, pale lips sealed shut, red eyes piercing through Marik's amethyst sockets, unblinking, merciless. Heart beating wildly, not daring to believe Nehti had remembered something from Bakura, Marik turned his crystal eyes towards his captor, very slowly. Why was this happening? Why had Nehti grabbed him all of a sudden? He tried to open his mouth, and saw Nehti's translucent pupils enlarge to cover almost the entire red retina, as though the crow man was focusing completely. His pupils were see-through…just like those of albinos! Like Bakura's!

"I-" Marik started, fearing his voice would come out high and squeaky, and thankfully didn't manage to complete that statement, since he didn't know what he might have said.

"Forgive our friend, Marik…" Ryou administered, with a meaningful glare towards Nehti. Serenity smiled as she realized his tone was every bit that of the diplomatic Japanese trying not to curse his relative in front of strangers "He's very confused and doesn't know what he's doing. Relax, Nehti. Let him go…" and with those words, Ryou took a slightly pacified Nehti's hand and forced it to let go of Marik.

Nehti glared at his cousin, and, honestly, it was so _unbelievably_ identical to Bakura's glare that even Ryou seemed to step back, startled. Without saying a single word, Nehti just glowered at Ryou, with all the might of a thousand stabs.

Oh, wonderful. And just as social as Ryou's Darkside as well. Had Marik not been nervous and disoriented as hell, he would have tried to warn himself not to link Nehti with Bakura, since they weren't the same person…he didn't have time to really think of anything, however, since Nehti instantly turned around again, to pierce him with those eyes, just for good measure. Marik yet again experienced that pleasant sensation of being scrutinized as an ant by a LaserScope.

"I've seen him before…" a suspicious, alien voice sounded, and it took a moment for Marik, who was fighting _not_ to look at Nehti at all costs, to realize it was the raven haired ancient who had spoken. A sound…a voice which seemed to come from Marik's dreams- a nightmare from another life. It was a bit higher than the usual male octave and hoarse altogether, and Marik recalled having heard it scream.

The fact that this raven-man spoke to Ryou as though Marik wasn't even in the room angered him more than anything else, and he suddenly felt an unexpected hurtful pang of jealousy override any other emotion. It seems as though Ryou had managed, yet again, to win some little territory that was just impossible for Marik…at least always in the beginning. Marik tried to comfort himself by the fact that they were cousi-…wait! cousins! How did Ryou know?

"Wait a sec." Marik started talking, not noticing how his intrinsic curiosity made him break the ice once again, and dare to speak to Nehti and Ryou so freely "Ryou, how did you find out you were cousins?"

"It's true that I didn't know we were cousins" Ryou started explaining, behind Nehti, who was still glaring at Marik as though his life depended on it "But it seems Kaiba was willing to be of assistance and-"

Suddenly, it was as though a nuclear bomb had fallen. At the mentioning of the name 'Kaiba', Nehti whirled around so violently to grab Ryou, that his black hair hit Marik's face when he turned.

"_what_?" Marik couldn't see Nehti's face, but he recognized the animalistic tone of that voice from long, long ago, when he'd seen Nehti hanging in the lab "Where is he? Where?" Nehti was shouting, his nails visibly digging in a gasping Ryou's shoulders.

"I'm right here." Was heard Seto's calm voice from behind Marik. The tanned boy turned to see Nehti's reaction, but he didn't really manage to see anything apart from a black blur. Within seconds the tense room had turned to chaotic. Big Bad Rascal was hiding behind Mai's knees with his sister, frightened, as they watched the adults shouting in a riot. Bakura was literally _on_ Kaiba. He'd assaulted him within milliseconds. Ryou was trying to rip him away from a mildly irritated Seto, while Marik watched, transfixed, as Nehti was trying not to _punch_ or _kick_ Kaiba, but instead to bite him. In fact, Nehti was clawing at him with those sharp nails, eyes wide and desperate.

"I'll kill you…you murderer!" he was raving like a lunatic, reiterating the same phrase over and over again.

"NO! Nehti! It's not who you think it is!" Serenity tried to restrain him "He has nothing to do with Gozaburo!"

"I don't care who it is, woman, as long as he goes by that name!" Bakura literally barked at her, and Marik was overtaken by a sense of déjà vu as he watched Bakura go at it. Kaiba, now actually requiting Bakura's 'tender touches', had started to brawl in a very barbaric manner, tossing Bakura to the ground and attempting to punch his face to the floor.

"YOU DID THIS TO US!" Bakura literally screamed through a split lip, making Mai's little ones run to hide in the kitchen. Kaiba was about to respond to Bakura's kick in kind, when Marik shouted.

"STOP!" the tanned boy, frowning at a dissatisfied Kaiba, watched the CEO still over Bakura, who was still desperately thrashing, not realizing that Kaiba had stopped fighting. Of course, being a robot, Kaiba stayed unaffected by his opponent's desperate hits.

"Kill me then, go on!" Nehti was yelling "What are you waiting for? _What the hell are you waiting for? Please just kill me! KILL ME!"_

And so, they all paid witness to what Bakura must have been like when he first woke up as a spirit as well. Obviously, he had no memory of Rewind 1, or what he'd seen as Ryou's Darkside, but still retained his previous memories of who and what he was. They all bore witness to the insecurities, to the self-hate that hid behind Bakura's rudeness and hate for other people. Kaiba was doing nothing. He wasn't even touching him, but Bakura was begging him to kill him. He was _actually begging_ to be killed.

This kind of self-mutilating insecurity often hides behind people who pretend to hate others so intensely, but instead hate themselves, believing they're dirty. Children or youngsters who've been abused in a very young age often think this way about themselves and try to make everyone hate them, so they can justify their 'filthiness' in their own minds. Marik had never recognized Bakura's behaviour so clearly before. Perhaps because he knew Nehti's story and he understood Nehti spherically as a personality- not as something as abstract as 'the spirit of the Ring'- he could make the logical connections, finally.

"Why aren't you moving? Why—why—_why can't you end it?"_ Bakura was shouting, and no one dared to do anything, not even stop him. This abnormal, and most erratic behaviour was exactly what they'd been trying to forget, by acting happy and relieved. Now, Bakura was giving them a fresh reminder that he couldn't forget. He couldn't extract himself from Eruna- not really. The pain was too much. Only he knew the secrets of what had happened to him in that god-forsaken place. And he was left with all those memories. No one had expected this breakdown from a man as darkly composed as Nehti…

The shouting match he could deal with…however, when Marik saw Nehti's eyes roll back perilously and he recognized foam starting to come out of his mouth, he telepathically ordered Kaiba to move away and tried to climb on top of Bakura himself, in hopes of calming him.

But it was too late. Joey was shouting, Yugi was shouting, Ryou was nearly crying, everything was happening so fast. Nehti, underneath Marik's trembling limbs, had gone into spasms and was now convulsively rolling on the ground, trying to breathe through the foam coming out of his mouth in currents.

"Oh my God!" Serenity was too shocked to move, and Mai was rushing somewhere Marik couldn't see. The next thing he knew was Bakura's frantically rolling eyes, which were trying to focus but failing. Marik didn't know what to do. He was trying to stop Bakura from biting too hard down his tongue and clawing so hard at his own body, as if trying to tear it.

"Bakura…" he was saying in as soothing a voice he could manage through his pounding heart "I'm here…Bakura…" But suddenly, there came a sharp pain in his shoulders, like a dozen little pins piercing them at once. Not having time to understand what had hurt him, feeling the wild adrenaline pumping at having Bakura's arms around him, he turned quickly to Bakura's face, where the wide eyes were staring steadily right at him. After that, his eyes rolled back again, and his body slacked, with the last residue of foam clinging still to his pale lips. Marik quickly turned to see what had rendered him unconscious and saw a compassionate Mai hovering on top of them, with an empty syringe in her hand.

As the crisis was over, and Bakura lay under him, helpless, weak and paranoid, Marik turned to see the others. Joey's warm eyes were now wide with terrorized shock, and the same stood for all the others, except an expressionless Kaiba and a tearful Ryou.

Marik was helped up by Rishid, who tried to make sure Marik was all right. Careless of his own condition, Marik just watched Ryou and Yugi try to take hold of Bakura. As he moved to help them, though, Marik felt a sharp sting on his shoulder. He turned to see what the nuisance was and discerned, on both his shoulders, the half-moon marks of nails, which have dug into skin.

-

"Where is he?" was heard a soft female alto from outside the door.

"He's inside, been there all night long…" the other female response, this time by Mai's exclusive voice. The rest was muffled from inside, so Marik paid no heed to it. He wasn't in the mood for focusing on anything, really.

He slowly turned from where he was looking out the window to observe the man lying on the nearby bed. Bakura- or was it Nehti- was lying quietly on his side, face mostly covered by black locks, some of which were long enough to graze the floor. His limbs were curled in the position of the foetus, save for one of his arms, which stretched over the side of the bed. Standing there, silently observing the calm figure, Marik suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Bakura sleep, just sleep, ever. He'd only seen him either awake and alert or unconscious and numb. But never sleeping.

And now that Marik saw him, the sleeping posture was really so extremely defensive, that it struck Marik that Bakura's really _was_ all barking and no biting. He'd have never expected Bakura to be so…so…curled up when he was sleeping. He'd expected some sort of position, like spread like an eagle, which would imply Bakura's not caring for anyone else except himself. Marik thought that, as he himself proved, the saying was right: the more uncaring a person looks, the more self-conscious he actually is, and the opposite.

Marik approached the other man's bedside and sat down at the nearby shaggy armchair, which creaked a little under his weight. This house rally was archaic, let alone extremely small. It only had two bedrooms, which were currently reserved for the patients. All the others slept in the living room, or in the corridors. But of course, this house was more than enough for Joey's financial capacity. Not to forget it was Serenity's father's old house.

Marik sighed a little, closing his eyes. He was extremely tired, but could not sleep. He'd tried, again and again, but he couldn't. Nehti's expressive face, merged with that last, incredibly sensual, image he had of Bakura in Ryou's body, were enough to keep him awake. To torture him by making him wonder who this Nehti really was.

He'd been in this room ever since yesterday evening, and now it was afternoon. Of course, the landscape outside the house never changed: it was always black, day in day out. This helped lose his sense of time and space. Ryou had stayed there with him for a bit last night, but, as though he realized his presence more distracted Marik than comforted him, he'd soon left. And so, Marik had been left alone, pondering what his feelings meant, what his indifference meant and what this black haired man meant.

As he sat there, absently tearing at the little threads on his chair's shaggy arms, his eyes slipped to Nehti's face, and he noticed something; that red bandana thing. Why was Nehti so obsessed with it? Marik knew his fair share of 20th century Earth history. Perhaps it was one of those Italian folks with the red clothes…what was it again? Garli…no…Gabilaldi….? Nah…oh well, whatever. Or maybe he was with the Germans who wore the red cloths? Nah…Bakura wasn't German. Perhaps with the communists then? With Che? Oh, Marik remembered Che all right. The man's name had made an impression on him, so he always remembered it afterwards…

But Bakura didn't seem a likely candidate for any of this. As Marik allowed his mind to trail over what Bakura's red cloth could mean, he let his eyes fearlessly roam over Nehti's body for the thousandth time. He watched the man's face, his lips, that looked so soft, the gentle, almost feminine curve of his curled hip. It was hard to believe that a body as creamy and soft as this was only hours ago thrashing around, spitting foam.

What was it? An epileptic crisis? Well, it could easily be cured in 2650, but still…Perhaps it was the residual effects of those series of experiments he had gone through in Eruna…Marik felt his skin crawl merely at thinking of the name. But it was logical to assume this. Since Bakura's biological functions had been altered to match Noa's, it would only be logical for the man to suffer health problems later on…however was this really the case…?

Marik's swirling mind turned back to focus on what he was watching, and his eyes slipped again to that blasted red slip of cloth, half hidden inside the black nest of hair. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, and thinking Nehti was too exhausted to suddenly wake up, anyway, he sat straighter and reached out carefully.

True to Marik's predictions, Nehti didn't even change his breath pattern when Marik bent over him. The blond boy, feeling a familiar exhilaration, gently touched the red, gauze-like material, searching for the edge. He was lucky and found it in the exposed part of Bakura's head. With experienced, feathery touches and a heart beating so wildly he feared Bakura would hear it, he slowly started unwrapping what little he could of the cloth.

He managed to slacken it enough for it to gently slip off. It only took a few tender touches, and it had slipped off Bakura's face. As he turned to look at the –finally exposed- part of Bakura's forehead, he suddenly felt like it was silent…perhaps…too silent. Bakura's breathing had stopped. He turned his eyes to look at Bakura's neck and saw a vein pumping quickly –and not at all like that of someone who is sleeping. Realizing his blunder, Marik turned around to run out of the room, but he wasn't fast enough. Before he knew it, he could feel the sharp edges of Bakura's nails dig in the tender skin of his throat. Bakura had managed to grab his neck in a chocking grasp before Marik had even managed to move. His red eyes dilated and glaring "I told you to run while you could, but you didn't listen, did you?" he said, in his crawling low voice.

A sudden spark of horror and hope ignited in Marik's soul, and he didn't even care as Nehti pushed him backwards and let him drop unceremoniously to the floor. What Nehti just said…it was the same at what he'd told Marik 600 years ago..did that mean…!

"Although it confuses me as to how you're still alive after 600 years, and only a little older than last time as well… Did you honestly think I wouldn't eventually remember a face as ugly as yours, pretty boy?" Nehti sneered over the fallen Marik, red eyes turning dark magenta in the blue dark light "Well no such luck." The man with the long hair said, and, holding his loose red bandana in place, he draped a black cape over his scantily-clad body, and left the room.

-

"Don't call him that" Big Bad Rascal was shouting, when Marik finally came downstairs again, the next day. After a long shower, he'd managed to get over the shock, which had, of course, accompanied the annoying nickname. God, he hated that nickname. 'Pretty boy'. It sounded as though he was a gigolo or something.

"Well whashummacall it, then? Pinky?" Joey laughed, pointing at Rascal's new droid contraption, this one specifically designed to sing lullabies for Zora. In all truth, it was very pink.

"NO!" Rascal was complaining, stomping his feet on Mai's freshly polished floor "call him something that sounds cool, like 'Omega'"

"Why?" Joey asked, seemingly confused "What does he have to do with the alphabet?"

"Again with the inventions, I see?" Marik's voice called from the stairs as he descended slowly. When Rascal and Joey turned towards him, their eyes became as wide as saucers, and Marik felt a surge of long forgotten pride bubble up to the surface.

"What the hell happened to you? Won the beauty contest or something?" Joey was saying, looking at Marik as though he couldn't believe that stingy creature he had welcomed in his home was actually this attractive a guy.

"JOEY! No cussing in front of the kids!" Mai's admonition came from inside the kitchen, followed by Marik's indifferent toss of hair.

"Oh well, just because you met me in a difficult period of my life" he started, winking at Rascal "doesn't mean I have to look like you." He finished, making Joey splutter and do various indecent gestures, which he proceeded to make Rascal swear he wouldn't display in front of his mother.

Marik laughed along, trying not to show how flattered he'd actually been at the comment about his appearance. It had been a while since the last time he'd felt good about himself. Now, having resumed his classic style of jewelry and well-fitting clothes, he felt a bit like normal. Besides, let's say there had been some recent events, which had made him look at things from a new point of view…

"Lunch is almost ready! Call the others!" Mai's order came from the half-open kitchen door.

"YESSIR!" Joey shouted, while making mocking gestures and shaking his head at the kitchen door "Sheesh…hey kid, don't tell your mom I did that."

Rascal just shook his head and left to call Yugi and Tea downstairs, all the time sporting Joey's mocking grimace "sheesh" he said, walking away.

"Hey Kaiba." Marik greeted, seeing the CEO walk towards the exit of the house. It had been agreed that he'd be leaving when everybody gathered downstairs, so as not to distress Nehti and repeat the last 'episode' as they'd come to call it. They'd tried to explain to Nehti that Kaiba was an invincible robot, but, apparently, it had been just impossible for him to understand. Perhaps the pain had been too fresh.

"You ok?" although it was a somewhat moronic question to ask a robot, it somehow made Marik feel like Kaiba was a bit more human if someone asked him that.

"Please refrain from so openly displaying your lack of taste in clothes, Ishtar" Kaiba said, unpleasantly, as always "some of us would like to rest sans nightmares during the night".

Marik kept grinning "You're one to talk, you sleep-deprived robot" he barked out in laughter, and watched Kaiba's nonchalant eyes blink.

"Whatever" the blue-eyed freak just said, and then turned to leave "idiot".

When Marik finally entered the kitchen, he was still laughing. He loved this guy! His unchanging robotic-ness was so funny! Mai noticed him laughing and smiled "Well, see who decided to come out of his room, after all!" she snickered "Any reason why you were so reluctant to join us at dinner last night?" she asked innocently, as though she already knew the answer.

Marik, suddenly remembering she'd seen Bakura and he in a very compromising position, chose to splutter indignantly instead of answering that. Mai, smirking, turned around and occupied herself with her cooking. Marik was hoping to sneak out the room unnoticed, but Mai called for his help.

"I need you to hold this for me." She said, and he suddenly had an armful of…well, it looked like an automatic fruit peeler? Marik really was worse than Mai in cooking, and that said something…

"Master…" a calm voice suddenly sounded and Marik turned to see a purple-clad Rishid enter the kitchen. He looked at Marik, who was holding…whatever it was he was holding…and raised an eyebrow. "Learning how to cook, Master Marik?" he guessed, and Marik's frowning expression was all he got in response.

"Care for a chess match before our meal?" Rishid proposed genially, and Marik was grateful for his incessantly warm attitude.

"Why not?" he asked and unceremoniously left Mai's…contraption on a nearby stool.

"Hey!" Mai protested with a glare, but Marik shrugged at her with a cheeky smirk and turned his attention back to Rishid as they walked back to the living room "But where will we find a chessboard?" Marik wondered, and Rishid pointed to a small cupboard on a corner of the room.

"How did that get here?" Marik wondered, but was not particularly anxious to find out. In general, he'd been trying to stop seeing everything as potential threats these last few days. Rewind 1 had changed him more than he'd initially thought, and he was trying to recover on every aspect.

Thus, the old friends settled for a match, where Marik took black and Rishid white, as usual. Time went by and they didn't realize it, becoming quickly absorbed in their strategic little world. Rascal had tried to distract them by hopping around more than once. When that didn't work, he'd started observing the game, trying to figure out ways to cheat.

Mai's calls for the others to come down had been ignored enough, however. Marik and Rishid bore witness as she finally walked out of the kitchen and upstairs, where she started cursing her husband for ignoring her. When she came back down, it is possible she didn't notice the two opponents and her son trying to muffle their giggles, but more likely than not, she was happy they were laughing, even if it was on her expanse.

After some indeterminate time passed, people started coming down in search for lunch. Mai whined a bit that they hadn't immediately come down, but she was so sweet that no one could seriously be annoyed by her. Yugi and Tea came down, now curiously behaving a little goofy around each other. Marik wondered if it had anything to do with when he caught them hugging a bit too ardently yesterday, but chose to ignore it. Yugi approached their table and stared down at the chess board, curious.

"What is this thing you guys like playing so much?" he asked, honestly eager to find out the reason behind this obsession. Marik shrugged and remained focused on his next move, not really having heard what Yugi had said. Rishid, on the other hand, who was waiting for Marik's move, answered,

"It's called chess. An old strategic game" he calmly said, scratching the stubble on his chin skeptically.

Yugi's eyes started to sparkle brilliantly as he observed the laughable plastic pawns "Strategy! Oh I _love_ strategy!" he proclaimed.

"Oh no…" Tea's small voice came from somewhere in the background "not _another_ game! Come on, Yugi! Mai's food will get cold!" and she tried to tug Yugi away from the game that rivaled his attention.

"Umm…Tea" Yugi started, with a mutter "Don't you think Mai's food will be better if…" It seems as though not only Marik had noticed Mai's culinary talents, or lack thereof.

"Why I never…" Tea started saying, but was cut of by Yugi, who was eagerly observing the progress of the game.

"Hey guys! Teach me how to play sometime, k?" he urged, eyes extremely glittery and slightly dreamy. At that moment, Marik settled on moving his knight and completed yet another part of his long-term plan, which he'd been meaning to test on Rishid for some time. Once he made his move, he turned to Yugi and snorted, while running a hand through his hair.

"As if! I don't want to teach you anything! You'll just keep beating me in it!" he bluntly told an affronted Yugi, who raised his hands in mock surrender.

"It's not my fault if-" Yugi started, but was towed along by a fuming Tea, who was muttering something about annoying boys with short attentions spans, or something of the like.

A few minutes after these two entered the kitchen, Joey came down the stairs, wrapping bandages around his hyper arms, with Serenity and Zora following him and the little girl holding 'Omega' in her small chubby arms.

"…and so I went on telling him about, you know, this idea of mine and he seemed interested, but then we went to that store and he was always eating, and so I thought, forget it, and then with Tristan, we…" Joey was saying, with his usual, unique sense of non-syntax. Seriously. This goofy man had the power to convert even the simplest of sentences to a riddle.

Serenity, with her slim eyebrows knit together in concentration, was actually attempting to follow his chaotic trail of thought—a task which Marik had long ago abandoned as impossible. Usually, when speaking to Joey, Marik just nodded at the right intervals and watched the other blond youth go at it, enjoying Joey's eternal spark of youth. Joey had this unbelievable quality: however old you were or he was, he'd always emit the air of a perky youngster ready for action. Just like Mai, actually. They were one of the greatest couples Marik had ever seen, if not the greatest.

"Uncle Menace! Uncle Menace!" Zora came shouting to Marik, having adopted Rascal's nickname for him. She was disappointed to find 'uncle Menace' utterly focused on his chess game –which he seemed to be beating, by the way, since the new strategy had paid off- but she wouldn't leave him like that for long.

"Uncle Menace…?" she questioned in a comically childish voice "why are you wearing the sparkles mommy wears?" she asked, and Marik's attention was sufficiently diverted in order to see she was pointing at his earrings.

"Mommy's are much uglier than mine" he smugly declared, rolling his eyes at a flabbergasted Zora.

"WHAWAWAWA!"

No worries. Rascal had just ran in, again, pretending to be dancing like an Indian. _Again. _

"Honestly, Joey" Rishid started saying, in an offended tone "is that child hyperkinetic? I remember Marik at that age- I would have never let him run around like that." He said, not knowing how uncharacteristically snobbish he actually sounded. Right now he was Rishid: the good and honourable tutor. Marik, however, was pretending not to be paying attention to any of this. I mean, he _was focusing._

"Oh really?" Joey sneered "Is that why he always walks as if there's a pole up his ass?…don't tell your mom I said that."

"Joey!" Serenity laughed and gave him a friendly hit at the elbow. Joey shrugged and smirked when Marik turned to pin him with a death glare.

"Hey Menace! Is that cabbage stuck in your teeth?" Rascal suddenly asked, making Marik reflexively put a hand over his mouth.

"HA! Sucker!" Rascal shouted and started to run around. Then he added, as an afterthought "Don't tell mom I said that"

Marik was left glaring, yet he kept inconspicuously trying to pick at his teeth without being obvious. But then, wait a minute…he hadn't eaten cabbage! He hated cabbage!

"Check" Rishid suddenly said, earning a groan from Marik. The tanned boy, trying not to let on that he'd been too preoccupied with his _teeth _to focus on the game, made an extravagant show of moving his eyebrows, trying to convince Rishid that he hadn't been caught unprepared. Naturally, it didn't work, and Rishid grinned somewhat smugly.

Things were pretty bad in this game- Marik was with his back against the wall. Rishid had somehow managed to break his triple-super- uberizing pawn combo, and now Marik was about to lose spectacularly, combos and all.

With his eyebrows furrowed and a nail between his lips, he had completely focused his attention on the game. In fact, he was about to make a move when he felt something on his shoulder. For a heart retching moment, when he saw something pale flash in front of his eyes, he thought it was Bakura – whether 'Bakura' was Ryou's body or Nehti's wasn't yet clear. However, when he turned around, he only saw Serenity's bright smile.

"I'd move the bishop if I were you." She advised, and turned to leave, smiling sweetly at a back-stabbed Rishid.

"Hey! That's not vewry faiwr!" Zora remarked, smart girl that she was. But Marik had already moved his bishop, and Serenity already gone in the kitchen.

It took a few more minutes for the final ones to arrive. Their descent was announced by the creaking of the stairs and muffled footfalls. Marik was bent forwards, elbows on the chair's handles and head over the chessboard, when the noises alerted him. Because the others had talked while coming down, he hadn't paid much heed. This worked as a reflex, however, from his nightmarish experience in Eruna. Odd squeaky sounds equal trouble.

As it turned out, however, it was Ryou and his occult cousin, one paler than the other. Nehti was walking last, with his eyes fixed in a narrowed glare, as though being led to the guillotine. Ryou, walking first, gave a silent nod of greeting to the sitting players. Nehti, however, didn't do anything but exchange a silent, icy stare with Marik. Ryou walked to the kitchen door, which opened automatically, but when he saw his partner was lingering on the staircase, he turned around and made an encouraging move with his head.

Marik refused to even care what was happening, so he'd turned back to his game, not really seeing any of the pieces. A small egging word from Ryou, and the door had closed behind them. Marik let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Your move" Rishid's voice jarred him back to reality, and he again felt embarrassed at being unable to focus. With a guilty look, he met Rishid' s warm, knowing smile.

"I'm thinking" he said, refusing to accept he'd been nothing but. Or, at least, with the wrong hea-

"You know, Marik" Rishid started, amazingly not calling him 'Master', but Marik. It was actually enough to disrupt Marik's derailed thoughts "He didn't come down to dinner yesterday either…"

Marik didn't let out a word, since his heart had started that familiar constricting again, and he was afraid how desperate he may sound "Oh?" he simply said, managing even so to sound uninterested about the matter. His eyes were turned to the chess pieces still, but they were fixed on the void, betraying his wayward thinking.

"Yes…" Rishid continued, taking a pawn in his hand and peeling the cheap paint off it. Marik tried with all his might not to shake every last bit of information out of him "In fact…" he continued, torturously slowly "I think he's a bit afraid…you know. He was like that the first time Ryou introduced him to us…of course after that you came and…"

_And he had an epileptic crisis_ Marik thought bitterly. Yup, That hadn't gone very well for a first impression, had it? But what was he saying? He didn't care about making a good impression! He didn't!

"Well, and you know what happened…" Rishid finished curtly, then lapsed into more thoughts "But before that, he seemed…scared. His eyes are constantly haunted. As though he's afraid of us. He looked like a little kid. Insecure."

Marik wanted to tell his mentor that Nehti hadn't seemed at all insecure last evening, when he'd practically affronted Marik. But he thought it best not to mention that little episode. Besides, he had a feeling what Rishid was trying to say was different.

"I mean…" Rishid started "That I think he's trying to act tough and untouchable with you…but really, it shows how scared he is. If you were my age, you'd see it too, clear as day. So all you have to do is be nice to him, and he'll…uh…he'll come 'round." He finished, and suddenly seemed _extremely_ uncomfortable by the direction this conversation had taken. He cleared his throat, and, had Marik not been so stunned by what he'd just been told, he may have laughed at his discomfort.

"So…uh…" Rishid was left saying, and Marik asked him the question, which had honestly been burning him all along.

"Why are you telling me this…why do you think I care?" he asked, taking care not to sound offensive but indifferently curious.

Rishid suddenly smiled at that and stood up, patting Marik's shoulder lightly "If you were my age, you'd see that too." He finished, and Marik had that annoying déjà vu from when he'd been a kid and was always told "I'll tell you when you grow up".

As Rishid walked toward the kitchen and Marik was left in that unmoving expression of mute suspension, there sounded a sudden noise from the left and a small little ball ran through the room shouting "WAHEAWEAAAAA".

Nah. Marik didn't want to remember about when he was little. Just in time, the kitchen door opened and revealed Mai standing behind it, glorious hair cascading down her shapely body, arms crossed and foot tapping. Along with her came an onslaught of muffled noises from inside the kitchen.

"Well, are you coming? We're waiting for you!" she asked, eyebrows raised in annoyance.

"Just coming, Miss Mai" Rishid said, with a small inclination of his head "the match has been determined" he said, and Marik could have _sworn_ the other man winked at him. Rishid._ Winked._

"Well, I'm glad for that. Now let's eat!" a bouncy Mai exclaimed, and ushering her hyperactive son inside the kitchen, she shot a glance at what Marik was doing.

"Forget about that!" she said "I'll tidy it up! You come inside and eat!"

"Yes mommy…" Marik mumbled under his breath, as a guffawing Rascal dragged him inside. What he'd actually meant to say was 'That's what I'm afraid of', but thought better of it, having noticed the sharpness of Mai's stilettos.

-

"Pass me the salad, will ya?" the clinging sound of forks and knives had filled the room. There wasn't much chatter, since an undercurrent of discomfort remained from the day before, with Nehti's episode.

The seating arrangements seemed random, but Marik knew they probably weren't. Joey and the two kids sat on one side of the table, along with Rishid and Marik. Opposite them were arranged Mai, Tea, Yugi, Serenity and Ryou, beside whom Nehti sat statuesque, quiet, and with his eyes to the floor. Marik noticed that Nehti was a bit isolated, since he was on the far, far end of the table and nobody sat opposite him. Marik himself sat on the direct geometrical opposite from him, since he was located on the other edge of the table, on the opposite side.

Marik reminded himself that fussing over sitting arrangements was for kids. It made him a tad uncomfortable, however, that there was general uncomfortable silence around him, when he knew that none of his friends usually behaved like this. Perhaps the crisis the day before had affected them much, much more than they let on.

"So what is this Mai?" Ryou was trying, albeit quickly disheartened, to make small talk "Vegetables or something I don't wish to know?"

Mai, quickly grasping this chance to break the ice, lapsed into a long explanation of how she had managed to cook everything, which unfortunately didn't manage much more than to accentuate their discomfort. It all became extremely pronounced when Mai finished her monologue, looked around a bit self-consciously, knowing very well that this was not her usual behaviour, and turned back to her food. Joey cleared his throat and tried again.

"So, Tristan called" he started saying, putting some spice on his food "He says everything's okay at work, although I'll have to go back on Monday".

Joey had taken a small break from work in the factory because of his arm injury. However, as he knew, he had to go back soon.

"But Joey, I thought you'd be coming back to Mercury, with us." Serenity told a surprised Joey, and Mai flushed "Oh no, Serena…" she started saying "we can't ask such a favour…."

"That's nonsense" Tea filled in "I know for a fact that-"

"No, I don't want my little sister to think I'm helpless." Joey said, with finality "we have our own life here…" he seemed a bit disappointed, even as he said it. Although the subject was a bit bitter, it was enough to draw Serenity, Ryou and Joey's family in a tense discussion. Unfortunately, it only amplified the feeling of displacement for everyone else. On the table, apart from the main discussion about what Joey's family would do, sub-groups of conversations started to form.

Rishid, Tea and Yugi were saying something about Yango, and the kids were making a small fuss. Marik was trying to follow what Ryou was saying, but really his attention was focused on the albino's dark friend, who sat silently, staring at the blank seat opposite him.

Marik, trying to be inconspicuous, joined in a conversation with Yugi about Pegasus' new game investments. However, he was noticing all different kinds of things about Nehti. Mainly that enen though Ryou had served him some food, he hadn't touched anything. With his eyes lowered almost in a manner of virginal composure, Nehti just…_sat_ there. Not moving. Not speaking. It was as though the atmosphere around him was constantly a few degrees lower than normal. Ryou, who was sitting next to him and was preoccupied with Serenity, periodically turned to Nehti and prompted him to eat, but to no avail.

"Marik? Are you listening?" Yugi's voice suddenly wrung, and Marik flushed a bit as he realized he'd been staring off to Bakura. He quickly turned to Yugi and nodded, so the boy grinned a bit and continued with his lecture about why people like Pegasus should just be banned from the face of a decent planet.

Marik was careful to look at the speaker and nod at all the right times, but his mind was still somewhere else. He remembered how he'd felt in Nehti's presence when he was a child, and recalled that childish feeling that all little boys have when faced with a teenager: impressed and jealous in their adoration. Small kids generally get jealous of and are impressed by teenagers, since they can do what little ones can't. However, Marik ironically thought, Nehti's position when he'd met him had been nothing to envy or admire. No matter, however, Marik had been so impressed by the youth's overpowering presence—at least that's what he'd felt at the time. What he didn't know when he was younger, and easily recognized now, was that his supposed 'admiration' was in fact some kind of intrinsic craving. He still felt it even now- he felt overpowered by it…as though he somehow _needed_ to have a man like Nehti in his life. Bakura…Bakura had evoked the same reaction from him…but then, wasn't Nehti the same man as Bakura? It was so confusing!

Marik started thinking if Rishid had been right, however. Now that he saw Nehti not with the eyes of an awed child but with those of an 'objective male peer', Nehti seemed just as mysterious, just as attractive, but completely unsure of himself. His eyes unconsciously followed the raven-haired man's movements again, and he noticed how lowered Bakura kept his eyes- still glaring, but lowered. He had his fingers stapled gracefully on the table, and his ebony hair flowed in wavy ribbons over his alabaster cheeks. Coupled with his black, femininely shaped, eyebrows, the power of his red eyes was amplified by a hundred. But, truly, now that Marik finally saw him in a calm and homey environment, he seemed extremely out of place, like he didn't know what to do with his hands or how to touch the fork if he didn't have anything to claw or scream at…He'd stayed in Kuru Eruna consciously for four years before they put him to sleep…so he probably didn't even remember how to act in less than nightmarish surroundings anymore. Marik cursed Rishid for being right: people got more perceptive when they got older.

Nehti suddenly moved in an attempt to try using the fork, staring at it like it was an uncooperative alien. Marik turned back to Yugi and started answering the boy's long monologue, which had just finished. He was just getting into talking about games, when Joey make a quick movement in the seat next to him.

Marik didn't even have time to inquire what had jarred Joey when…"AHH!" the sharp cry cut through everyone's tranquil conversation, and they all immediately stopped to stare at Zora, who was sitting on Joey's other side. Marik, confused as to what had happened, observed the girl, who was sitting there frozen, eyes wide and positively terrified. She was almost crying, having jumped against her father and hugging his side with all she was worth.

Following her terrified eyes, Marik saw she was looking at an equally frozen Nehti. With his arm stretched in front of him towards a bowl, it looked as though he'd been in the middle of trying to reach the salad when he'd scared Zora out of her wits.

"D…Daddy…" the little girl was shaking, looking at Bakura as though he was some kind of three-headed monster come to skin her alive and feed her intestines to a pack of rabid wolves. Joey pat her head, careful not to hurt her with his HyperArms, trying to calm her down, telling her it was all right. Marik watched Bakura carefully, noticing every little detail of his face, as the man sat staring at the little girl, who now had tears rolling down her cheeks. There were no words to describe Nehti's expression- at least none that Marik knew of. If Zora looked scared, Nehti looked terrified. If Zora looked sad, Nehti looked like he wanted to rip his heart out so it would stop hurting. Whatever that expression was, it wasn't an expression Marik would have ever imagined to see on _Bakura_. It was too…personal.

"I'm very sorry! Don't know what got into her! Zora, apologize to our guest!" Mai was saying, looking at Zora with an urging frown. But the little girl just squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Joey's clothes.

Perhaps, the thought hit Marik, as he watched Joey uncomfortably try to apologize to an unmoving, unblinking Bakura, perhaps this was what Bakura was like when he first woke up as a spirit. This, though, was even worse, since Nehti had all his memories of Kuru Eruna and didn't need people to tell him he was a monster: he already felt like it. This must have been what later turned Bakura into a hostile and spiteful ghoul: this constant living in self-hate. Unwanted. Feared by little children. No one wanted to be near him on the table. No one wanted much to do with him.

"It's all right, Joey…" Ryou was supposedly answering in Nehti' s place "I'm sure it's because she heard us shouting yesterday and got scared, I'm sure…" but that didn't relieve Nehti himself, who was just staring at the distance, unblinking, looking like nothing mattered to him anymore. Looking like he could die and not care.

Unable to stop it when he saw that positively self-destructive expression, Marik literally let out the first thing that came to his mind "Hey, Bakura…" he interrupted Ryou, and watched as the red eyes moved to look at him, as if through a dream "…I wanted to show you something, before! So let's just take lunch and eat upstairs! What do you say?" he asked nervously, under the scrutiny of those forlorn eyes.

He didn't know whether this would serve as an insult rather than an invitation out of this discomfort, but decided to risk it nonetheless. When many moments passed without an answer, Ryou took it upon himself to relieve everybody "I'm sure that's not necess-"

"That's fine, Ryo." Bakura's scratchy voice suddenly said, his eyes finally lowering from Marik's and focusing on the worried albino near him. Ryou, letting out a small sigh inclined his head and muttered something only for his cousin to hear. Bakura just nodded curtly and turned back to Marik, who was wondering, along with all the others, why Ryou's words had sounded a bit strange…had they not heard well?

"Let's go." Nehti just said, and looked back in Marik's eyes, as though waiting for him to make the first move. Marik nodded to himself and stood up with his plate, and Bakura, taking his queue, followed with much slower and resigned movements. The tanned youngster hurried to Bakura's seat and took the other man's plate politely, all the while moving in utter silence. He motioned for the raven man to follow and turned to the door.

"See ya later, guys!" he called as he walked out. But before he'd completely exited, he heard Ryou's voice call.

"Bakura…boku mo kitakunai no ka?" he asked clearly, in the same strange wording Marik had heard moments ago, which he realized was japanese. And everyone watched, surprised, as Nehti –the man who could hardly speak modern language without archaisms- answered flawlessly.

"Hitori de daijoubu da zo" and just like that, with a solemn swish of his dark cape, he'd walked after Marik.

-

The boy with the amethyst eyes was surprised. Bakura had never known Japanese…But come to think of it, 'Yuuta Bakura' was a japanese name…and so was 'Ryou'…'Nehti', however, had nothing to do with 20th century Japan, at least not that Marik knew of. Given, however, that both Nehti and Ryou had been living in a western country back then, it would be logical that they were either second or third generation of japanese immigrants. Who knew? The fact that Marik didn't know what they were saying was yet another small victory of Ryou over Marik, even though Ryou wasn't doing it on purpose.

He discreetly checked the silent Nehti while they were ascending the stairs, and found him staring off to nothingness again. Great. Was this how constructive their evening was going to be? Bakura in his own thoughts and Marik trying to think of a way to make him talk?

They were still each in his own thoughts when they reached the door to Marik's chamber. The blond stepped to the side for Bakura to pass first. For a moment, Nehti didn't quite get it and stayed put, but when Marik gave him a prodding glance, he nodded and walked in, the door opening automatically.

This was originally the kids' bedroom, so it had all kinds of weird toys in it- Rascal's droids, Zora's little stuffed animals. Marik cursed himself for not thinking ahead- he wasn't so sure Nehti would enjoy being surrounded by all this after what had happened. But then again, who knew what Nehti enjoyed, if anything?

Marik, full plates in hand, entered after him and looked for somewhere to sit. He stood there awkwardly for a few moments, feeling again like a teenager who was learning how to adjust to his body. Bakura, on the contrary, moved without batting an eyelash to the only available seat, the lower bunk bed, and settled down, still blankly staring at the distance.

Marik consciously resisted the reflex of clearing his throat, knowing very well that it could signify nervousness. He didn't need Bakura to believe Marik saw him as a nuisance as well. Because this was the problem, as Rishid had said. Marik believed he was right, and was resolved to break that icy shell.

"Here" he offered Bakura his food, and the other took it somewhat reluctantly, looking at it with obvious lack of appetite. Marik, who wasn't feeling very hungry either, occupied himself by pretending to shuffle around his plate—at least it gave him something to do.

Things progressively got worse and worse. Without the background of another seven people chatting around them, the silence was deafening. At least for Marik. His partner, as a stolen look revealed, wasn't much interested in anything. He was just sitting there, having obviously gone into some sort of depressive shock, since he was just staring mutely at the void.

This time the tanned boy couldn't help the uncomfortable little cough. As though in slow motion, Nehti blinked his huge eyes slowly –thick, long eyelashes moving like silk- and turned slowly to look at him, as though weary of what Marik wanted.

"You're not eating…" Marik commented, somewhat uselessly "don't like the food?"

Bakura clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes halfway, crossing his arms. Uh-oh. Defensive mode. "The understatement of the millennium. I know you hate it too, despite your faked appreciative sounds." He spat, eyes clearly averted. Had Marik not understood him so well, it may have actually worked. It was strange, really. Marik didn't know him, but he felt like he already did.

"Hey, at least she tries! You should be grateful you have at least that!" Marik good-naturedly said, careful to take the other completely aback by his lack of spiteful response. Nehti didn't answer, but focused instead on playing with his food in a disinterested nature. Then, when Marik had almost forgotten all about what they'd been talking about, he quietly said "Better than nothing I guess…" and quickly stuffed his mouth with the closest nutrient he could find, as if to erase what he'd just said. Erase the memory of Eruna.

Marik internally cringed, but on the outside just kept his expression blank. After a while, when the sound of their forks clinging had already relieved the pressure a bit, Marik's charitable voice broke the silence again.

"So…you and Ryou are cousins, huh?" he started, thinking this was the most accessible of all subjects.

"I don't want to talk about it"

Well, apparently not.

Bakura's eyes remained fixed on his food, which he was eating dispassionately…but at least he was eating. Marik stayed staring at his fork for a while, watching how it glinted in the light. He raised his eyes to his companion, suddenly, and found Bakura averting his eyes quickly. Marik tried to grin his charming smile, but he had a feeling it ended up looking different than he wanted…more nervous.

"Okay…" he started, pretending he hadn't seen Bakura staring at him and feeling desperate to act a little like his old, in-control self "What do you want to talk about then?"

Only silence answered him, and the ice Bakura's eyes: striking, alluring but a little cold also, like those of statues. The answer was obviously 'nothing' and was left unsaid. However, Marik wasn't known for giving up.

"You have to talk eventually, you know…"he commented nonchalantly, as though he was describing something inevitable that would happen either way. This 'inevitability' attitude of his was what probably pissed Bakura off, enough to make him deliberately keep quiet and tighten his grip on the fork. Marik cursed himself. He knew Bakura was like a kid- doing exactly the opposite of what you told him to, for the sake of spiting you alone- so why did he have to be like that! He resolved to be more careful later on. Talking to Bakura and trying to make him like you –Marik refused to admit he was doing that, of course- was like trying to tame a wild beast: every action must be deliberate, thought over and over again, so that the animal can connect wrong with punishment and right with congratulation. If you do the wrong thing by accident, you have to start all over again.

"Tell me, how did you remember me? I would have thought I went by unnoticed at the time…" Marik asked, but, again, there came no answer. Thus, Marik remained silent for a long time after that, focusing on his food. Much later, however, he couldn't help it…

"It's a bit chilly around here, isn't it?" Marik asked a bit compulsively, rubbing his arms. He thought it was a bit desperate on his part to start talking about the weather, but it was true. It was actually very cold around here; and that was weird, since he was sure the climate had been normal when they'd entered. The raven-man continued chewing his food, and Marik thought he wouldn't reply his very stupid comment. But then, while looking at his food…

"My body heat is higher than regular, so I consume more energy from the environment. I _suck warmth in_, if you prefer " he tonelessly said. Marik shook his head dismissively "That's impossible " he reassured compassionately, with a tone one may use on a little kid who was saying pigs could fly "It can't be done even today".

"A person that freezes the air. Too monstrous, huh?" Bakura mirthlessly asked. He seemed disappointed…forlorn. Marik realized this was another one of those insecurity things.

"Is it some kind of birth trait? I don't get what's so monstrous about it." He asked curiously, knowing of various alien races who had these kind of biological resistance mechanisms. The Crol, for example, were known for their ability to swim underwater like fishes, since they possessed both fins and lungs. And his friends, people like Rena, for example, who had alien ancestors, were given these traits. But there was no way Bakura could have such abilities, since he was 100 from Earth! Marik had forgotten about that…

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, since Bakura's pupils enlarged into translucent foggy mirrors and he looked about ready to start scratching his own face again " Iwas n't born a monster, if that's what you don't get! _You don't get it?_ Of course you don't get it! How could you get it! You're not the one they call freak!" he stood up now, yanking Marik up by the shirt and shaking him "You're not the boogie man with the red-eyes! You're not the one little kids are afraid of! You're not the one they dragged from one lab to another, pulling tests, injecting stuff, destroying your body, killing everyone you loved! Do you have any idea how many of my loved ones they murdered! _Do you have any IDEA, what they turned me into?_?" he screamed, and tossed Marik to floor like a filthy rag, turning around and walking to the window dejectedly, face buried in his hands.

Marik was shaken for a few moments, but finally stood up. He made a show out of carefully wiping off the dirt from his clothes, and then, after standing and musing in the silence, he spoke.

"You're not the only one with problems, you know." He let the statement fall like a brick. His voice wasn't comforting now, but hard and a bit condemning. Bakura turned to look at him, but he had his back turned and was staring at the wall "just because you were one out of millions of people who were tortured and killed down there doesn't give you the right to be better than everyone else. And before you start thinking how much your life sucked, I propose you be grateful you've at least lived long enough to see the future 600 years after your time. And, also, before you start making suppositions about how useless I am and how inexperienced compared to your highness, I propose you remember, as you already have, that there might be a reason I was in Kuru Eruna as well, and there might be a reason why I'm here, 600 years later, only twenty years old. Not only you have lost people you cared about, _Bakura_."

With that said, he made to leave a stunned Bakura behind. He didn't bother to turn around to see the results of the Armageddon he'd just dropped, but he did stop a foot before the door, remembering something and not even thinking before he said it.

"Oh, and _what the fuck_ is your _problem_ with your eyes? From the time I saw you, you're bitching and moaning about them, but you really wouldn't be yourself without them, so learn to appreciate that. If it's worth anything, I like them."

And he left.

-

"What the fuck is his problem?" the glaring man was saying, arms crossed, black hood drawn and long cape covering his slim form.

"He's just trying to help you, Nehti…" the albino comforted, chocolate eyes warming up "He's always trying to help."

"I don't like him" the solemn voice administered with the tone of a judge that declares the verdict. Ryou couldn't help but roll his eyes. Nehti really was completely like Bakura. Well, he _was_ Bakura. He was exactly like Bakura had been when Ryou had first discovered him in the ring, so the albino knew well how to deal with him. Although this version of Bakura was a bit more sentimental, not having lost his memories and all, he was still the same vengeful, malicious, spiteful prick that he'd always been. That's why Ryou never wanted to lose him.

"You're too quick to condemn him…" the albino advised, coming to stand near Nehti in front of the window. "Give him another chance…it hasn't been easy on him either you know…"

Ryou watched his cousins thick eyelashes blink rapidly "So he says…what happened to him..?"

The albino contemplated the question, knowing the answer would either have to be an entire novel long or a simple phrase " He lost a twin brother…and he also lost someone he cared about very much…" the kind voice said, and Ryou turned his eyes away to stare at the distance, knowing he'd lost that person too, even if they were together again "The person he loved. Whatever you do, don't ever talk to him about him".

"Who?" the hooded figure asked, voice sounding not curious but…well, something stronger. Not exactly envious, Ryou thought, but it was the tone Serena used sometimes…

Knowing he couldn't answer that question, the albino just shrugged, since he might regret it if he said something.

Nehti made a show out of hiding his face in his black hood and preparing not to hear what he'd been told. In fact, he'd been doing this ever since he woke up in this crazy world. 2650? He didn't want to hear it. Catacombs? Didn't want to hear it. Ryou didn't remember being his cousin…being in Kuru Eruna? Forget it. And now this guy: the little kid he barely remembered having seen somewhere in that accursed lab! Was this 'Marik' guy the same as what Ryou claimed Nehti was? A person put to hibernation for 600 years? It sounded logical…whatever it was, Nehti didn't want to know. All he wanted was Kaiba's head on a silver platter. That's all that mattered.

"Whatever, I don't care. Just tell me…when can I get out of the house?" Nehti asked, pale hand reaching in his pale hood to touch the red cloth around his head. Ryou knew he was doing it again. It seemed Nehti wouldn't stop doing that movement ever since he woke up. The silver-headed albino sighed.

"_Again_, Nehti? I've told you a hundred times…you can't take revenge…the Big 5 are already dead, and so is Gozaburo." The kind chestnut eyes focused on the other, reaching for that spectral hood and pulling it off to reveal a nearly weeping face. Bakura turned his face away, placing his palm on the chilly window.

"You don't understand…I have to kill them with my own hands." He turned to Ryou, blood eyes honest in their hate "I _have to _!." He raised his palms "Bury these nails in their _fat, disgusting_ bodies and tear the flesh away. And all the blood that falls to the floor, I'm going to _lick_ it, while they watch. Watch me take their life away like they took mine! Watch me kill everyone they ever cared about!"

Ryou's skin was crawling by now, from Bakura's horrific fantasizing, mostly because he knew Bakura would have made it all a reality if he had the chance. Suddenly, as Bakura finished his speech, Ryou felt a hand on his cheek, warm and comforting, and turned his pale face to that of his alter ego, seeing Bakura's extremely large, darkened red eyes.

"But not you, Ryou…they didn't manage to take you…" and with a sweeping motion, Ryou found himself enveloped by long arms. Not knowing how to react, he let Bakura fondle him, sensing the other's chest shake and knowing Bakura was crying. "I'm sorry…Ryou…I'm so sorry…"

_Your pretty cousin…we broke him all right_

_--------but you're—_

"I'm so sorry…because of me…"

"_Kaa-san! MOTHER!"_

"_To Kuru Eruna, brat!"_

_**TO KURU ERUNA!**_

_----------------------you're my favourite doll-----_

"….Sorry…." And he was sobbing by now, melting like a baby in Ryou's arms. The positions had switched, as usual, and instead of Bakura holding Ryou, it ended up like this. Ryou holding Bakura in his arms, while the other sobbed like an infant, arms against albino's chest, delicate spine shaking, black hood falling off, finally. As of yet, Ryou didn't know what Bakura was so sorry about, but he thought it was better left forgotten. Bakura remembered, and look where that had taken him. No…perhaps it was better for him not to know…

However, Bakura was damned. Whether he had his memories or not, he was damned to be tortured by them.

"It's okay…You know, sometimes I feel we know each other so well, like we're parts of the same soul…see? Even our clothes prove it. You black, me white." Ryou said, lapsing into thoughts of his Darkside, the dark part-the other part of his soul, and how this man had been exactly that, even if he didn't know it. Bakura didn't seem disturbed by it, only laughed through his tears and tightened his grip on the albino.

Patting Bakura's back slowly, he thought of someone else who'd cried in his arms like this, and his mind automatically flew to Serena and how much he'd missed her. He'd explained to her understanding nature how Bakura needed him more than ever right now, and she understood…but that didn't erase the fact that he hadn't devoted himself to her as much as he'd wanted. And now, she'd found her brother as well, and she was spending as much time as possible with him…Ryou definitely had to make it up to her.

"Come now…calm down…let me bring you some water…" Ryou started saying, and felt Bakura's nod on his shoulder. Ryou gave a responding nod and tenderly extracted himself from Bakura's embrace, walking away to find some water. In the kitchen, he greeted Marik and Rishid, playing yet another chess game and apparently teaching Yugi how to play –poor Tea. At Marik's slightly curious glance, Ryou felt his heart fall. Marik was probably wondering why he wasn't with Serenity…well, Ryou had it in mind. 'Trust me Marik' he thought, a bit bitterly 'you'll get it in the end…and you won't despise me anymore'.

When he got back upstairs, Bakura had already recuperated from his slight crying fit and was recovering his stoic appearance. As Ryou entered, the other turned to him and said, in a bit of a dazed tone "You know, Ryou. I was thinking…" he started, and momentarily drank the glass of water Ryou had brought him. Then, when he'd waited for Ryou to settle in a relaxed pose near him, he started again.

"Yatsu ga (that guy)…what was his name…" Bakura was saying 'disinterestedly' while observing his nails. Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"Me…Ma…" Bakura supposedly started guessing the name, making Ryou roll his eyes in the sheer childishness of it.

"Marik?"

"So da na (that's right)…" Bakura let the statement trail on, and then, when his 'innocent' eyes met Ryou's amused ones, he fell back on Joey and Mai's comforter and continued with the same 'uncaring' tone "Yatsu ga nansai? (How old is he?).

Ryou later considered himself a champion for managing to keep a straight face after hearing that. The tone of voice was similar to the one people used when considering purchasing a car, or a dog. Or maybe the same tone they used with their matchmaker. "Dooshita nda? Kiomi ga aru no?" (What's wrong/ How come? Interested?) he asked in an extremely amused tone, which bothered Bakura to no end.

"Baaaka na! Sonna hito de…shitsumon dake nanda (You idiot…as if that kind of person…it's just a question…)" he asked, voice turning rough and slightly threatening, as though daring Ryou to think or say otherwise. Ryou, amused by this little game, decided to see where it would lead.

"So da naaa…( Is that so..) He's around twenty, I think. " Ryou concluded, having heard Marik was about Serenity's age. He didn't really know about his own age, since it was a bit fuzzy a matter, so he couldn't make predictions based on that.

"That's what he said, too…so it can't be a lie…" Bakura skeptically said and Ryou sniggered, earning a sharp elbow on the ribs.

"What's the matter? Don't you trust him?" Ryou questioned, watching Bakura's reaction closely and laughing at the other's displeased snort.

"Trust him? How fresh do you think I am?" Bakura asked, visibly irritated "Haven't you seen the way he looks at me? As though he's expecting me to reveal a top federal secret just by scratching my ear" he stated dispassionately.

"Really?" the albino raised a suspicious eyebrow, thinking whether he'd ever actually seen Bakura scratch his ear "You seem to be extremely aware of the way he looks at you. Do you look at him as well?" and he broke out laughing at Bakura's infuriated glare.

"What the hell, Ryou! I just want to know this guy's background! You know…to keep him off my back!" he protested, arms crossed and delicate jaw clicking.

At such a delightful offer, Ryou just couldn't keep it in: "Are you serious? _On your back, already?_" he burst out guffawing at Bakura's completely taken aback expression. The albino watched as two red flowers bloomed on Bakura's cheeks. He never thought he'd use the word 'cute' to ever describe Bakura before, but this was it!

Bakura crossly tossed his black hair out of his eyes, making Ryou copy his gesture with his silver, in order to mock the coquettish way Bakura did it. The raven man glared even harder and, of course, Ryou kept laughing.

"Minna mo itteita nda zo…omae ga hentai! (Everybody said it, already…you're a sick one!) Bakura cursed as he stood up, refusing to even look at this infuriating creature any longer. What had that girl called him again? "Angelic"? Well to hell with that! This guy was the child of Satan!

"Kierou (Get lost)!" Bakura shouted while pointing at the door, black mane like that of a wild animal.

"Fine, then…"Ryou stood up with a smug look he didn't assume very often, and when he did it implied he knew something others did not. In this case, what he knew was that Bakura and Marik already had something very real going on, so he had no qualms teasing Bakura already. In Ryou's mind, it was only a matter of time.

It's only logical that Bakura was extremely annoyed by this attitude, as he watched Ryou saunter to the door "I'll just, um, go downstairs with _Marik_ and Rishid…he just loves chess, that boy, what can I say?"

As Ryou ran out, seeing Bakura's piercing glare and guessing what would follow, Bakura cursed all deities that they made these new blasted doors automatic. This way, the book he'd thrown went straight out of the room.

-

Another major drawback with these stupid metallic doors was that they couldn't be knocked. This was mainly the reason why Nehti jumped five feet in the air –still retaining that primitive fear for survival, evoked in _that place_- when the god-forsaken _female_ entered the room.

"What the deuce is your problem, woman?" he demanded, still struggling to conceal himself with his beloved cape. He didn't like anyone seeing his skin…much less this…female that Ryo found oh so enchanting.

"Oh, sorry..." and she did look honestly embarrassed. Watching her auburn hair cascade freely down her shoulders and her cheeks turn rosy under his scrutiny, Bakura noticed she was rather easy on the eyes. Who knows what Ryou had done to attract so beautiful a woman…knowing Ryou's internally perverse nature, Bakura didn't even want to think about it "Um…I was just looking for Ryou…"

Nehti sat back on the bed, refusing to let show how hard his heart was still beating, and started playing with the long strands of his hair, not paying any attention to her "Obviously, he's not here."

Serenity nodded and turned to leave, so Bakura prepared to relax again and become lost in his own thoughts. The submissive girl, however, suddenly stopped, as though contemplating something. Suddenly, she turned back to Bakura, seemingly having made up her mind.

"That's fine." She steadily said, face determined "I'm glad, actually, since I wanted to talk to you" and she stroke a pose, hip jutting out and arms crossed over her chest.

The man didn't even bother hiding his frustration at her staying there "_What now_?" he questioned, with a tone that was rude and disinterested all at once.

"Oh don't be so dramatic. I've never asked to talk to you before." She said with a mildly amused tone, faintly reminiscent of Ryou's teasing, which made Bakura detest her all the more. How dare she talk to him like that?

"And I've enjoyed it that way." He spat back, yearning to see a look as aggravated as his own cross her face, which would signify he'd 'gotten under her skin'. There was no such reward, however, as she actually laughed. _Laughed. _Stupid girl, mocking him. He was going to kick her out, right now. He'd-

"You always _were _misogynic. I guess some things never change. Marik will be glad." She commented, winking at him.

The handsome man's pupils dilated dangerously, and he threw her a piercing glare "For your own sake, you better not be implying anything about my honour, _woman_, or I'll show you first hand what I'm capable of…And where did you meet me anyway, to assume such things? And what does Marik have to do with this? "

Serenity, actually having shivered from Bakura's evil words, combined with his glare, thought it best to avoid any other such digression. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but wonder…if he'd been brought in Eruna when he was fifteen,…ha! He probably wasn't as experienced as he wanted her to think. Pfft! Through the centuries, men never change. Even when severely abused and tortured, men _still_ don't change, at least on that aspect. Really, it was too bad for the 'stud' that she wasn't in the mood for teasing, or else she'd have come up with a dozen details about his love life.

"Where did I meet you…?Um…hello? Hasn't Ryou already told you about what happened?…but anyway, I came here to talk to you about Marik, among other things." she asked, noticing she was straying from the original issue she wanted to discuss. However, this was turning more problematic than she'd originally thought. She'd assumed that Ryou had talked to Nehti about everything, already.

If there was one thing Bakura didn't like it was being caught unawares. And by a charming little girl such as this; no less. Her scientific-oriented countenance and fixation with heels unfortunately reminded him of a demon woman he'd known in that hellhole, or else he'd consider her subtle style very interesting. He narrowed his eyes at her, however, and slightly bared his teeth "_What happened?"_

"Umm…" the girl confusedly started 'Oh no, this is not good…maybe he'll start freaking out on me,perhaps if I take it easy, at first…' she thought, and continued more sturdily "Uh…don't you know…about Rewind 1?"

She watched, transfixed, as what she'd feared immediately happened. He suddenly lunged at her, grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her, inferno eyes boring deeply in her auburn ones, burning her thoughts. She had a déjà vu…

"_Where in the seven hells did you hear that name?"_ he asked her, nails starting to dig in her tender skin, but careful not to hurt her too much- she _was _Ryou's woman, after all. Knees shaking uncontrollably by now, she just shook her head and gasped "It's an operation in KaibaCorp!" she said, and Bakura none-too-gently drove her against the wall, black cape sliding down his shoulders with the movement.

"I know damn fucking well what it is! " he shouted at her, as she tried to speak and her words came out jumbled up because of his shaking "H-ho-ow d-do you-ou know?" she was asking, and, seemingly coming back to his senses, Nehti stepped back from her, still keeping her against the wall but at least not suffocating her.

"That _name_, you mentally handicapped wench" he spat, eyes seeming to glow scarlet fires "was the _euphemism_ for what they were doing to us!" and his drove his fist on the wall right next to her head. She stood, mouth wide open from surprise and shock, and looked at him, eyes going over his almost-feminine features to his half-exposed shoulder. He was wearing a black tank top under the cape, and that helped reveal only a slight slip of skin when the cape had half-slid off. Distracted, Serenity thought how it was possible for a man to be so deathly pale- so pale it was clearly anomalous. She felt cold all over, for some reason, and struggled to reason with him before his cold ire frosted her over.

"Us? Who's us?" she questioned, slightly confused, and this only seemed to enrage him even more.

"US IS THE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE TURNED INTO MONSTERS DOWN THERE, OR HAS THAT ESCAPED YOUR PRETTY LITTLE EYES?" he roared, deafening Serenity with an abnormally high screech, which was completely heart-wrenching and reminiscent of everything she'd been trying to forget. However, his hoarse screaming in her face made her panic as well, and, overtaken by adrenaline as she was, she shouted back at him, ignoring the fact that the rest of the house could probably hear.

"NO, IT HASN'T! IN FACT, I'VE SEEN SOME PRETTY FREAKY THINGS TOO, SO DON'T YOU VICTIMIZE YOURSELF IN FRONT OF ME! " she shouted back, and Bakura felt the little alerts in his head jingling precariously, telling him he should stop before he completely ridicules himself by having a crisis all over again, and salivating foams like a little baby in Marik's arms.

"Victimize myself?" he demanded, in a marginally calmer tone, feeling his heartrate rise precariously. He stepped away from Serenity and walked off to the window, pulling his hood up over his head "of course. I wouldn't expect you to understand what it means to be a real victim. And now, don't think I don't realize it, everyone is hiding things from me, afraid I'm going to start breaking down the moment they tell me something. As if I can't take it, after everything I've been put through." He finished, face drawing in a grimace of distaste. "How would you know of real victims? How would you know…"

"Look" Serenity started, finally feeling herself stand rigidly on her feet again "I'm sorry." She said in an apologetic tone, and at his lack of response, uncomfortably started shifting on her feet "I'm very sorry…but this is what I wanted to talk to you about…I saw you at lunch. And I've talked to Ryou…and, since I thought you knew…I thought it may be easier…"

"_Knew_ what, dammit!" Nehti barked suddenly, turning to look at her in what she recognized as despondence "How would I know if no one tells me anything? As though they're afraid I can't take it! Ryou…Marik…and now you! Why am I talking to you anyway, I don't even know you! I don't even care about you! Did you come here to be sorry about me? Well I don't need anyone's pity!" he ground the last part out viciously, and was completely taken aback when Serenity practically _screamed _back at him.

"Well I know that! You've made that perfectly clear!" she was shouting, with her hand raised towards the heavens "And god only knows why, but guess what, Bakura! _I_ don't care whether you care about me or not, because _I_ care about you! And I care about Marik!" she literally roared, with enough force to bring the small hut down "And I was hoping you'd at least _listen_ to me when I tell you that even though you're a victim, and you've been hurt, it's not like there aren't people here who care about you! Things happened, Bakura! You were one of us, even if you don't remember…and Marik, Marik loved…Marik also thinks highly of you. You shouldn't bring all those people down, just by being your usual, disagreeable self." She finished, sniffing slightly in indignation and looking at him from warm, but angry, eyes. "That's all I wanted to say."

And so, leaving a slack-jawed man behind, Serenity Wheeler finally got the last word with Bakura as she left the room. Bakura, eyes red and bleeding, just stayed silent until she was gone. Then, after locking the stupid electronic lock, he let his back hit the door.

_Marik…Marik loved…_

_Marik also thinks highly of you…_

_Red eyes…I like them…_

_I…_

_Don't ever talk to him about it…_

What the fuck is going on?

_Marik has also lost people he cared about…_

_The one he** loved**._

-

The door opened, making Marik look up from the computer-book he was reading. Rishid had brought it with him from Yango when they'd left, and Marik had finally settled down to enjoy it in the bedroom, while Rishid was writing something on the top bunk.

When the soft swish of the steel door sliding open was heard, it was an understatement to say how shocked Marik was to see a dark figure coming in. Neither of them spoke a single word, just standing there and looking at each other for a few moments, Marik subtly inquiring and Nehti glowering determinedly.

"Yes?" Marik needlessly probed, mainly just to spite Bakura even more. By now Marik knew Bakura's twisted psychology enough to understand Bakura must have somehow seen it as 'a hit to his pride' that he had to actually come to Marik's room on his own and not the other way around after a fight. Bakura was completely fucked up like that.

"I needed to talk to you." Nehti ground out, eyes glaring daggers at the man who had actually dared to speak to him that way before. Marik, enjoyed every little bit of the other's tense discomfort at 'needing' to talk, and decided to intensify the torture as long as he saw fit. He didn't answer.

"Privately." Bakura specified from between his teeth.

"Obviously" Marik casually remarked, noticing that the subtle sound of Rishid' s old pen had stopped it's little scratching. Well, the tension _was_ palpable. But Marik didn't ask for Rishid to leave just yet.

Bakura narrowed his eyes down to glaring slits, eyelashes becoming pronounced by the blackness of his hair and porcelain quality of his skin. He didn't say anything, refusing to admit to himself he didn't really know what to say. He just settled on trying to stare Marik down. Marik, with his god-damn _shiny_ hair. Marik, with his _cocky_ little grin. Marik, with those smoky snake eyes! Marik, with that **_ugly_, **uglybody.

"After that shouting match with Serena, which I didn't really hear since I was out, you probably came to me looking for comfort, but it can't be helped, I'm afraid. She's with Ryou."

What the hell? Was this blond little chic _mocking_ him? He didn't find it funny that everyone knew he'd been humiliated by a little girl. He especially didn't want this guy to know, because this guy had _tried_ to humiliate him also. Humiliation in Bakura's mind didn't really go with objective measures. In his mind, the person who humiliates him is the person who manages to get to him. Marik _almost_ got to him, last time…but then, that comment about the red eyes…and the discovery of Marik's lost lover…that's it! Marik's lost lover! The only taboo subject around him. The only thing that could hurt him. It was a cheap shot, but it was worth it.

"Of course, I suppose you know all about rejection" Nehti venomously spat, turning around to observe the rest of the room, as though disinterested in the topic of conversation "I've been told all about your 'lost lover'…" oh…it was almost orgasmic, the glee Bakura felt upon seeing Marik's eyes dilate in such a manner. Oh, all right, perhaps he knew next to nothing about Marik's lover…but oh well. The subject seemed to intensely affect Marik, all the same.

"_What _did you say?" Marik shot up from his seat, almost pushed Bakura away from his fury. And then, in a flurry of motion, he whirled to Rishid "Rishid! Please leave us for a few moments!"

If it weren't for the sudden pang of unexpected annoyance towards this unknown 'lover' who could provoke such violent reactions, Bakura would have been truly perturbed from Marik's face. Rishid, who was obviously and unsuccessfully trying to conceal his alert expression, said a low "Yes, Master" and rushed out the room with all the conviction Marik's agonizing expression was giving him. The second he was out of the room, Nehti didn't even have time to exhale, before he felt the asphyxiating pressure of a tanned hand against his larynx.

"_Listen, you fuck" _Marik started saying in a voice low and breathy, that alarmed Nehti much more than any shout could have, making him think it may not have been such a good idea to tread on such perilous subjects "I don't know what you know, or think you know…but if you ever try to talk about him again, _ever_, you will regret it." Nehti was acting exactly like Bakura had when Marik had first met him. However, Marik had already gone down that road. Already solved other peoples' psychological problems, and now he had his own. This man wasn't Bakura. Although he looked, acted, even smelled like Bakura, he was just a smartass little teen who'd been in the wrong place on the wrong time. He understood, by that obstinate spark in the other's eyes, that Nehti really didn't know much about the 'lost lover' or he wouldn't be acting so trivially about it…besides, who out of their company could have betrayed Marik?

"_You think you're going to scare me, after Kuru Eruna?" _Bakura questioned with a chocking voice, feeling his breath give way as he was pressed against the wall, with Marik's infernal body suffocating him. "As if I've waited for you to take my life, when I've gotten out of there! You're just a little kid, younger than me! I don't even know why you're here, you nondescript plebeian!" he spat, knowing they were lies even as he thought them, but unable to retain their biting edge. From al the things Marik had said, only one had clearly registered in Nehti's brain: '_him'. _The mysterious lover. Not a beautiful girl. Not an angelic maiden. Nehti was trying to wrap his mind around it, imagining the image of a tall strong man shadowing Marik's fair features, but felt a sudden pang of anxiety every time he did.

A man.

"I don't care about any of your sordid love affairs! The only thing I want to know is what _you_ know about Rewind 1" Bakura flamboyantly lied, making Marik tighten the hold on his throat and squeeze silently in provocation.

Then, finally, amethyst eyes boring deep into red ones, breath hitting Bakura's mouth, Marik visibly relaxed and stepped back, slackening his hold. If Bakura didn't even know this much, he certainly wouldn't know about his actual lover. Seeing the blond' s adjustment to the situation, Nehti immediately pursed his lips and pretended to be slightly more in control, even though Marik's hand was still on his throat, as though lingering there for comfort. Marik, back to his nonchalant self, mirrored Bakura's expression with an honestly unperturbed face.

"Perhaps you should ask your cousin, then, or someone who may know you better. I was never so involved with you." Marik advised, swiftly turning around towards Zora's collection of fluffy toys, in order to hide the pain in his eyes "I won't be of much assistance".

Nehti glared at the other's stiff back, red eyes poised in a lethal sting "I'd appreciate it if you let me be the judge of that" he said and then took a few thoughtful steps to the side, so he could see Marik's profile "Besides, I must have a reason for coming to you, when I could have gone to anyone else."

"What reason?" Marik asked, mildly interested at what the other was implying. He seemed so extremely tired, however, by all the psychological pressure he had recently been under, that he didn't really sound like he cared.

That pissed Bakura off, and the raven-man decided on saying something caustic once again. "Someone told me you already knew me. That I've lost memories…I thought you'd be willing to tell me what others don't, but I can now see you don't like telling things in the open, so let's just forget about this." The tall man said, tightening his black cape around his body and preparing to walk out. When he felt a palm on his shoulder, however, he stopped, without turning back.

"It's true that you've lost memories, and that I already knew you…and it's true that I don't want to talk about things with you, exactly because I've known you in the past, and now you don't have your memories. Is that open enough for you, Bakura?" Marik's low baritone asked, sounding strangely confessional in a most disorienting way.

It disoriented Nehti to such an extent, actually, that the boy turned around instinctually, grabbing Marik's shirt from the chest and fisting his hands in it "Why? Am I not a person now? Am I not the same person? I've turned into a monster now, and you don't want to know me, is that it? Why do I not remember anything? Why?" he asked, hoarse voice thinning even more as the speech progressed. Marik, wayward eyes turned to the floor, gently extracted himself from Bakura's clutches and turned away, back to the window, knowing he couldn't let anything happen between them, though he was provoked even more every time.

"I've told you before that you're not a monster and that you should go on with your life…what more do you want from me? Some things are better left unsaid…"

"NO!" Nehti stated, fist hitting the wall rigidly, making Marik slightly turn his head –earrings clinking with the movement "Don't say that! I hate that! I want to know! I want to know my memories!" he demanded, like a lost child, and Marik felt unshed tears gathering behind his eyes. He thought how unfair life had been to this creature. At first, Bakura had strived to find the memories he now had. Now, he was trying to gain the memories he recently gained and lost…

"Look…" Marik started, voice lowering significantly in his internal plight of reminiscence "All I can do for you right now…is help you through your problems." He finished, and turned to stare at a flabbergasted Nehti "And I truly, honestly want to do that, even if you probably don't believe it. I want to help you…" his amethyst eyes were sparkling, though Bakura couldn't understand the moistness behind he glow "But, please, don't ask anything more of me." He finished, and Bakura was about to say that asking something more _was_ part of needing help, but he was cut off when he felt something pushing against his hands. "Here. You can have it." Marik told him.

He looked down and saw a strangely shaped…deformed…thing, which gave him a headache just by looking at its ugly, burn-out figure. "What's this?" he asked, accepting the weird talisman, which jingled a little when moved "It's not in the best condition" he observed, noticing how the thing seemed to be turned inside out, as though completely melted in lava.

Marik nodded quietly, face hidden by his blonde, glowing bands "That's because the soul inside it doesn't exist anymore" he finished, and Nehti thought he heard a strange quality of wetness in his voice. He tried to dismiss it, but failed…it always came back to Marik somehow…somehow…Why was the loss of this 'soul' making Marik so sad? Perhaps this was the soul…the soul-

"This soul…who did it belong to?" Bakura asked, skin crawling for the long-awaited answer, heart beating harder, for some reason, upon seeing Marik's forlorn features, upon feeling Marik's hands close around his own- around that golden object…Bakura didn't know if he really wanted to know. The soul of that strong man…no doubt stronger than he was…the soul of a man not dragged through the mud of Kuru Eruna…that protective, possessive shadow over Marik, which always laid claim on him…

……………_.Bakura…_

……_all the spirits of the night…_

_..the dark will protect us.._

…_within our golden prison-_

…_in the dark halls of your world…_

…_..protect us……._

…_Bak..u…_

Nehti's red eyes suddenly widened, grabbing the sharp edges of the object so hard it bled. Marik just smiled at him, the saddest smile he'd probably ever seen.

"A man with red eyes"

-

"Brother, I understand that you've forgiven me…but I still wanted to make it up to you." She sounded hopeful…she sounded just as optimistic as he'd always remembered. The light on the end of the hard trek. She'd always been an inspiration to him.

"Serena…I don't want anything. I only want to see you, because you give me the will to evolve. That's all I want. Everything else about forgiveness is meaningless." And it was true. When he'd come home from the police station, only to be greeted with silence, he'd known it had finally happened. His mother had given up and left.

Forgiveness was never an issue for him. He'd been delighted and forlorn at once, when he realized his beloved little sister had left for a better life. Happy because, unlike him, she had a wonderful future in front of her. Sad, because he'd lost her forever.

Or, that's what he'd thought at least. It seems the paths of destiny are complicated, and no one ever knows what they hold…who knew she'd end up seeing so many things so early in her life. Who knew that next time he saw her, she'd have blossomed in this beautiful woman?

"I want you to come with me…come with me to Mercury, for a better life. For Mai, for your children…for me.,." she pleaded once more "Marik, Ryou and I have talked about it, and we think that, with the power of KaibaCorp on our side –with the power of controlling Kaiba- we can use this company for good things. Great things. Hyper Arms won't be needed any more- you'll have them removed!" Serenity's auburn eyes were practically glowing, and Joey enjoyed watching her- just watching- as all the shine of her youth poured into him in waves. He was only five years older than her, but he'd already given up on life a long time ago. Mai was the only thing keeping him from complete oblivion.

"We can do great things, brother! We can use this company to help people, not destroy them! " she egged, nearly convincing him with her zeal "And you…I want you to help us! I want you to fulfill your dreams! I've always dreamed I'd find you again, and help you make your dreams come true!"

"Dreams?" he bitterly smiled, turning around to watch the kids playing, dark brown eyes turning golden according to the light, just as his earthy skin "Nah…no time for that, Seren…I need to be here for my family now. Mai needs me…" he focused on Zora fleeing from Rascal's pretended attack "The kids too…"

Serenity shook her head wildly, stopping the tears from falling, since this was not the time. Her brother needed her right now! She was trying to make him understand-make him see. He wasn't as dead as he thought he was. He was young and his life was spread in front of him. He had a beautiful wife that he loved and who loved him, and he had the greatest family ever to support him.

Why couldn't he see how she saw him? As an idol. As a statue of the picture every man must be: a humorous, kind-hearted person, who hid his true strength behind his kindness and love for his friends. Serenity knew only few more persons like this, one of which had died in a hydro capsule, and the other who happened to be the love of her life.

"Long ago" she started saying, practically _willing_ Joey's liquid gold eyes to turn to her "Long ago" she repeated, and walked up to him, holding his cheek and caressing it "you told me a story about a black dragon with ruby eyes." Joey's eyes widened, brown sparks flying inside his warm golden retinas "Are you willing to forget that story- forget that dream about honourable men who duel?"

She watched him open and close his mouth like a fish, and, knowing she'd hit a nerve, she persisted "I know lots of honourable men and women, Joey. I know you, and Mai, and Marik, and Yugi, and Ryou, and Kaiba…and Bakura. Why don't you create a story about them? Why don't you make your coal dragon come true? Are you afraid?" she asked him in an understanding tone, and he turned away from her, subdued hair whipping like snakes around his face.

"It was only a dream, Seren…it can't be done…" he started saying, but Serenity grabbed his elbow, ignoring how his HyperArm hurt her.

"That's where you're wrong, Brother. " she admonished, and watched Joey's eyes constrict "Because now I'm here for you, and you have the chance for a better life. You have a chance to make your dream come true." And then, eyes drawing in conviction, brows furrowed "I had also fallen into despondence at one time, and I didn't believe anything could be helped. But at that time, Ryou helped me. He took my hand and helped me get up, and I've loved him for that, and everything else that makes him who he is."

Joey turned his eyes to the ground, remembering when he'd first met Mai…

"_But really, you don't notice many things, do you? Like a beautiful woman with a great body right in front of you. Pft! Just a stupid little boy!"_

"_Now watch it there, missie! I'm a catacomb champion! I'm a Supervisor, if you'd like to know."_

"_Oh really? Then how come your name is on my employee list? Oh…but of course, I forgot to introduce myself: Mai Valentine. I'll be your Supervisor for the next few months."_

"_Wha-"_

"_So deceitful little boys had better shut their mouths in font of a woman as beautiful as me."_

"_Woah. Doll on the outside, troll on the inside, huh?"_

"_That'll be a double shift for you, Wheeler. Now get to work"_

Yup, That hadn't been such a great impression…but then…

"_Wheeler…what's wrong?"_

"_Nothing…"_

"_That's not very convincing, you know…is it about your father again?"_

"…"

"_Wheeler?"_

"…"

"_Joey, I'm talking to you."_

"_It's…you know, my sister…?"_

"_Serenity? Of course! She's helped me get on your nerves about a gazillion times! Always nice doin' business with' er!"_

"_Well…you ain't gonna do much business with her any more…she's gone now. Mom took her to some other fancy place…that's good for her, but…at least mom could' of let her say g' bye."_

"…_Joey…"_

"_She ain't gonna be here any longer, now…"_

"…_hey…"_

"_She'll just be gone, forever…"_

"_But even so, you still have people who care about you, and I'm sure Serenity won't forget you! She' ll be back for you one day, you'll see!"_

"_Who's gonna care for a scumbag like me?"_

"_Sheesh…all this time and you still can't see a woman with a great body and a dynamic character in front of you!"_

"_Are you kidding? Dynamic? Homicidal is more like it!"_

"_WHEELER!"_

"_Ahh! No! Save me form the monster! Save me, Tristan! Save meeeee!"_

"_COME HERE YOU TWERP!"_

"_What's going on, man? Whoah!"_

"_Tristan get outa the way!"_

"_WAHH!"_

"Dreams are there for us to fight for them. When we lose our dreams and hopes for the future—that's when we become truly beaten, because we come to believe it ourselves." Serenity advised him, now a grown woman, but still that determined, hopeful little girl he'd always remembered.

"So if you want that Dragon to come true…" Serenity started, turning Joey to look deep within her eyes "If you truly wish that to be the symbol of all your hopes and aspirations and beliefs. If you want the people you love to be proud of you, and have their feelings fortified…"

_I've always believed in you… You were the one who showed me I wasn't alone…even if our lives are poor…even if we're so small...even though you are an idiot…I love you, Joey._

"If you want that black titan to be the symbol of our future…then you should fight for it, and justify why we all believe in you." Serenity finished, and embraced him tightly, this time inevitably letting her tears fall. Joey felt again like he was in his mothers arms, somehow, though his mother had never been so optimistic and trusting…

But still, he felt like he was a little boy again. He felt in need of protection. Weaker but stronger somehow…he felt…

"Think about it, okay?" Serenity said, all too soon, and let him go, giving him a great feeling of déjà vu, from when he'd first met each and every person he'd loved in his life. He was left with a sense of wonder as she gave him a kiss on the cheek with her smiling face, eyes full of trust and hope. "I believe in you." She simply said, and walked away from a changed man.

As the girl walked inside the house, she came face to face with the long-haired, extravagant woman standing at the door and winked at her. Always a partner in crime, Mai winked back, her eyes a tad too sparkly. Was it moist or excitement? Serenity didn't know.

_You were the one who showed me I wasn't alone…my greatest fear was to lose my memories of having someone close to me…a partner._

It took a while after she'd gone in the house to find Ryou that Serenity wondered why Mai hadn't walked out to talk to her husband, after Serenity had left.

In fact, Mai had just stood there, smiling sadly, watching her husband return to his true self.

Mai was a beautiful woman.

-

"Bakura?"

"…"

"Bakura!"

"Don't call me that." The black haired man rigidly stated, not bothering to turn around from where he was lying on the bed propped up on an elbow, twisting his hair around his fingers, pondering. "Why do you all call me Bakura, when my first name is Nehti?" Ryou approached him quietly, almost reluctantly. But before the albino could utter a single word, Bakura had already gone off again.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" he just demanded, and Ryou stepped back as Bakura carelessly tossed something towards him, which looked sharp. It fell to the floor with a clang, but Ryou could have recognized anywhere that drowned jingling sound it had produced, even for a moment, while in the air. The Mil-

"-lennium Ring!" Ryou gasped, bending down immediately to retrieve it, sorrowful in its pitiful condition.

"Is that what it's called?" Bakura asked in a disinterested tone, focusing on weaving his long, thick hair around distractedly "Better call it Millennium headache. It's killing me."

Ryou immediately focused his attention on what his cousin had said, rushing to Bakura and kneeling in front of him. "Are you serious? Where did you get this? Why? Did you remember anything?" came the uncontrolled onslaught of questions, which Bakura wouldn't have remembered, even if he _had been_ willing to answer them.

"So you know this…this thing Marik gave me." Bakura somewhat bitterly commented. He'd been thinking about this for some time now. After Marik had wordlessly ushered him out of his room, he'd come straight here, trying to fill in the pieces of plausible explanations: Was he part-robot without knowing it? Had he been controlled by something he didn't remember? How did Marik meet him? Who was the man with the red eyes…? Those flashbacks…

"Ryou…why didn't you tell me?" he questioned, not really wanting to hear the excuses, but needing it nonetheless. He'd already learned them by heart 'You're still too weak, too unstable, too visceral…you're not ready'…but when would he be ready? When?

"Bakura, you know I tried to let you in this world easily…not the hard way, as it was for me…" Ryou started, but Bakura cut him off by standing up and moving away. The long-haired man walked to the armchair, where his black cape lay waiting for him.

"Forget it, Ryou…just tell me…" he started, choosing to piece his past together by himself, since no one wanted to help him with it. "Tell me…whose 'soul' was in this ring?" he asked, dreading and hoping it was him at the same time. Remembering that look, that extremely intense look that Marik had had when he'd talked about that man…but at the same time dreading the fact that the soul had been 'destroyed'…

Ryou blinked, looking for the most diplomatic answer, but failing to find it. Finally, when Bakura was too preoccupied with his own thoughts, Ryou lay on the comforter and pulled his knees against his chest, thinking. "The soul in that ring…" Ryou started, finding the most plausible way of phrasing it "was the other part of my soul…" and, once Bakura whirled around to stare at him, wide eyed, different thoughts going through his head, Ryou wondered whether his cousin would manage to make the connection between 'the other part of his soul' and himself.

However, in Nehti' s search for a possible identity, he wasn't able to think beyond a certain recognition criterion. "Tell me, Ryou…" he asked, voice growing darker and lower, suddenly "Have you ever had red eyes yourself? Who else have you met, except me, who has red eyes?"

Ryou was slightly confused and didn't understand where the other was going with this. He knew, however, that once Bakura got an idea, it was next to impossible to make him let go of it. And he clearly saw, right now, that Bakura was fixed on finding out about his past. Naturally, Ryou would make the challenge worth it, for him.

"The man in the ring, who Marik was in love with." he simply answered, knowing fully well, by the igniting blood spark in Bakura's eyes, that this was exactly what he'd waited to hear.

-

"G' night Yugi, Tea, Rishido" Marik politely said as he walked in his room. He felt very bad about monopolizing one of the two bedrooms in the house, but Joey insisted he use it until he got fully well. Marik tiredly slid out of his trousers and shirt, throwing them all on the back of one of Zora's bugger stuffed teddy bears.

He yawned distractedly, forcing himself to stay awake long enough to take off the blasted jewelry. Oh, he was sick of it. What was the use of primping anyway…everyone said he was young and should find someone to make his life brighter. He just said he wanted someone to make his life quieter.

Mumbling slightly about his tiredness and Yugi's talent for every game imaginable, Marik fell on the soft, fluffy bed, thanking all deities for having at least this. He closed his eyes and prepared for the sweet oblivion of Morpheus, which he hoped would take him away to dream lands before Rishid got in the room and woke him again.

And indeed, he felt himself sink deeper and deeper in the quiet stillness of his surroundings, ignoring all of his problems, and the images of an alabaster face that kept invading his consciousness, along with the remembrance of a little boy with a metallic grin, onyx eyes and bare feet. It wasn't long until the boy turned to a monster, and the monster to his father, and his father to Isis, who was being sacrificed on an altar, where a man with silver hair and a black cape chopped her head off, while he was crying black tears-

"Ah!" he gasped, reflexively convulsing out of his nightmare. He found himself sitting up on the bed, sweating and panting, with the background noise of Rishid's deep snores to comfort him. Feeling cold all over, Marik stood up and resolved to fetch himself some cold water. Throwing on his body one of Rishid's countless dark purple robes, he hurriedly walked outside and downstairs to the kitchen.

But as he was drinking some water above the tank, trying to relieve himself from every memory of his constant nightmare, he suddenly chocked. Whirling around frantically, he tried to discern _what the hell_ had just touched him, but was greeted only with darkness. It had been a touch much like a caress, flowing from his left hip to his right. He was sure he hadn't imagined it…he couldn't have…unless he really was starting to hallucinate.

Shaking his head in resignation, and thinking that the loss of his partner was probably resulting in this continued distraught mentality, he decided to ignore anything that would attempt to jar him. Perhaps, a cold thought hit him, perhaps this was a dream again. Or a labyrinth- a labyrinth of dark corridors and glass laboratories and closed-open doors, where he couldn't ever find his way out. Alarming images of what could have possibly escaped Eruna and come for revenge hit him like a hurricane. However, if there was a fox trying to sneak up to him, he could easily turn to a wolf…

He was preparing to grab whoever it was that was playing games with him and give them a good lesson, but he was distracted when he heard voices coming from the sitting room, the place he knew that everyone except Rishid, Nehti and himself were sleeping. Slowly walking up to the kitchen door, but not close enough for it to open automatically, he prepared himself to listen in on the sounds, hoping to find out who'd been snooping around.

However, it was Tea's voice he heard murmuring.

"…I understand why you'd think that, but I never gave you a reason to believe it." She was saying with an ardent tone, as though fighting to evangelize the auditor to her beliefs.

"You didn't have to give me a reason, Tea…I'm not blind." Yugi's weary voice answered, sounding completely forlorn and bitter. Tea rushed to defend herself, her whispers merging together as she frantically let them out.

"I don't understand what I've done to you! I…You….You' ve changed, Yugi. Sometimes I feel like I don't know you anymore. And now you don't want to talk to me…I don't know. I don't know what's happening." She confessed, and Marik could imagine her shaking her head. Yugi, for his part, turned more bitter by the moment.

"Of course I'm different. I'm not him, now am I?" and then, as though he realized how harsh his tone had become, he waited a few moments, and then diverted back to his calm self "Look, Tea. I'm sorry…I'm tired, and…and I'm sure you realize you're not the only one who misses him, so…"

There was silence for a while, and Marik heard some shuffling sounds. Then Tea's muffled voice sounded, barely above inaudible. "You're not him…" she said, and Marik could almost see her resting in the spiky-haired teen's arms "You're completely different. You're Yugi. You're my Yugi. So I don't want you to be like this."

There came no answer for a long time, and the end of the conversation reminded Marik just how rudely he'd been eavesdropping. He should have left the moment he realized there wasn't any perpetrator around.

Exhausted now once again, he treaded upstairs, shaking from the cold. Unfortunately, Joey's financial situation wasn't so great, and central heating was considered a bit of a luxury these days, at least on Earth.

As he was waking to his room, Marik's eyes fell on the door next to his, and he felt his pulse speed up. He'd been an idiot when he told Nehti about dark Bakura…Nehti had probably already figured it out, after that flamboyant little clue Marik gave him, about the eyes. God, what an idiot he'd been. He didn't even _want _Nehti like that…

Shaking his head, in front of Nehti's door, Marik felt a wild urge to go inside and see Nehti sleeping again, but he fought it down. As he solemnly turned to enter his own room, he curiously thought he saw black fabric flow on the edge of his vision, but chose to believe it was yet another living nightmare.

-

"Duke! I' ll kill you, you shmuck!" everyone was awoken by Joey shouting at the top of his lungs, sometime after dawn "don't ever approach my sister again! Got that? EVER!"

"Fine, fine, you loser dog! You don't have to shout!" Duke's thin voice admonished.

"Brother, please! Relax!"

"No Serena. I think he's right!" a familiarly subdued voice said.

"Ryou? You too?" the betrayed tone.

"I'm sorry Serena, but it's just preposterous!" Ryou's voice protested.

"Hey! You're not innocent either, white eyebrows. Better not try anything with my little sister, or I'll turn your hair crispy black!" Joey practically roared.

"Don't listen to them Miss Serenity. You see, I taught Joey to act tough like that, but really I'm much much better than him." Tristan commented offhandedly, and there was the sound of a muffled punch.

"TRISTAN! Get out of my house!" Joey was barking at the top of his lungs.

"Tell him to shut up, someone!" an enraged voice shouted, probably Yugi, from another part of the house.

"Brother!"

"Joey shut up!" Tea's obviously tired voice wrung clear.

"You really are a loser dog." Kaiba's bored tone was also heard, and immediately after that, a loud crunching noise.

"OWW!" Joey was howling like a banshee "What are you made of, metal? Kaiba you freak!"

"I don't need you to assess me, you good-for-nothing mediocrity!" Kaiba yelled as well, now obviously aggravated.

"Stop it, Kaiba, before Bakura hears you! You have no idea what I've been through to keep him away from you!" Ryou protested wildly, while Marik thought he was already hearing strange banging noises from Bakura's bedroom next door.

"PEOPLE! STOP SHOUTING!" someone unidentifiable screamed at the top of his lungs, contradicting his own demand

Marik shook his head slightly, hearing Rishid' s unperturbed snoring come from the top bunk. He buried his blond head under his pillow and groaned. Some things never change, he thought, and an uncalled image of blood eyes came to his mind.

-

…_in the dark—_

_protect us-_

The second time Nehti had an epileptic crisis hadn't been as groundbreaking as the first, but it was just as terrifying to watch. This time, it seemed he'd strained his mind too much again during the day, so at about five o'clock in the morning, Serenity rushed frantically in Marik and Rishid's chamber, asking for them to come help the poor man as soon as possible.

Marik, not even stopping to register he was only clad in his underwear, was out of the room in an instant. He now heard the desperate cries of nearly everyone in the house –most piercing of all, of course, Bakura and Ryou's- and he cursed himself for not hearing it earlier.

When he rushed in the bedroom next to his, which was framed with various pictures of Mai and Joey at their wedding- Mai looked even lovelier than usual- or at different events, he almost got a feeling of yearning for a family of this sort. But all thoughts of comfort and quiet were robbed from him when he saw what was happening in the room. Frantically, he pushed through the small crowd that had gathered in the door.

Yugi, Tea and Tristan let him through, and he came face to face with Nehti, convulsing abnormally on the ground, as Ryou was trying to calm him fruitlessly and Joey and Duke where fighting to hold his jerking limbs down.

"Get out of the way!" Marik demanded, and Ryou complied immediately, stepping back to watch Bakura from above with Seren, who had just entered. Meanwhile, Marik fell to his knees between Nehti's spasmodic legs and lost no time in roughly grabbing the other's head with both hands, black hair becoming tangled and torso sweaty in the suffering man's plight.

Marik grabbed the other's head almost painfully, squeezing it so hard that the others feared the rolling eyes would bulge out. While Mai had ran in search of another injection, Marik stayed there, forcing Bakura's body as still as possible, watching the foam come out of the other's mouth in long fits.

Bakura's strength, however, surpassed that of Joey and Tristan, who were afraid of grabbing him too tightly because of their hyper arms. Besides, Bakura's physical traits had probably been magnified by transplants –which were probably the cause of these fits, too. With a sudden jerk, Bakura managed to release himself from Joey's grasp, and later from Duke's.

Frantically, legs still maniacally convulsing around Marik's shaking body, Bakura started to try and claw at himself with his freed limbs. However hard the others tried to restrain him, he always managed to convulse and escape. In his effort to claw his face and body, Bakura started writhing wildly, foam exploding in new series out of his mouth.

The others were yelling something Marik didn't understand. However, the tanned boy fell victim to Bakura's misdirected claws more than once. He felt gashes form on his back, but didn't let go. Slowly, imperceptibly to everyone else except Marik, who was so close, Bakura's movements started becoming slower, jerkier. He kept trying to bite down his tongue- and if he did, it would be fatal-, but Marik shook his black-haired scull every time to prevent it from happening.

As Nehti' s movements slowed completely, and his mouth became completely clear, for one heart-wrenching moment, his eyes consciously returned to their proper position, and he looked at Marik wearily- not glaring, but actually thankful, for once. The tanned boy felt all his muscles pumping from adrenaline and exhilaration, and he realized how much he'd missed and simultaneously hadn't missed these panicky moments one bit.

He felt Bakura's hands tighten weakly on his shoulders, sweaty but actually aware, and he only realized, belatedly, their compromising position when he felt Bakura's inner thighs squeeze against his hips. They were actually…oh this couldn't look very good from the witness's eyes…

But Bakura, with one last grateful transient look of red ruby, closed. His face was the complete picture of exhaustion- mouth aghast, black eyelashes wetly separated, swan neck thrown back. That last look…the gratefulness in it…it had almost bordered on pleasure. Marik was sure Bakura had trusted him, if only a little bit, before he'd fainted in his arms. And to think Marik had never even seen Nehti smile. Ever.

Marik, also sweaty and tired, saw Joey and Duke back away, as though unsure whether it really was over or not. Marik stayed there for a moment, looking down at Bakura's serene face, when he noticed something wasn't right.

There usually wasn't so much…forehead exposed…Marik looked behind Nehti's head and noticed the red cloth buried within the ribbons of ebony threads. Feeling like he was invading Bakura's privacy, but unable to help it nonetheless, he stared at the newly exposed skin, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Knowing Nehti couldn't feel a thing, much less protest, he slightly moved the man's black hair out of the way, observing the far side of his forehead, which was usually entirely obscured with hair. Tattooed on the skin, undoubtedly in blue ink, was etched a long number. 198493031. Like the ones Marik had read they used in concentration camps in the Second World War, back in the twentieth century. But that had been a tattoo on the inner wrist, not on the scull.

Numbers. The taking away of identity. The marking of property- of cattle. The metamorphosis of a human being into a catalogue number.

It couldn't be discerned clearly, if one looked at Bakura. One would have to come _extremely_ close and move away the hair above his right ear in order to see it, barely discernible, under the waves of black. But Marik knew that every time Nehti looked in the mirror, he could probably see it written all over his forehead. Is it possible that his head had been completely scraped when he'd been tattoed? In that case, did that hide behind the reason for his obsession with retaining his long hair?

The tanned blond shook his head in disgust at how animalistic a scientist- a person- can become, and gently let go of Bakura, who Joey and Tristan rushed to carry to the bed. Mai belatedly arrived with the injection, which they did on the exhausted Bakura just for good measure. They brought him some water and decided not to bathe him, only to clean his foam-stained throat and chest and let him rest.

Marik stayed silent while everything went on, and no one said anything about the tattoo, even though everyone had noticed it, after Marik had willingly searched for it. As Marik stayed put silently, he saw Ryou looking at him with a strange gaze –a gaze that said Ryou half-admired him, half-envied him for how he was always the one to affect Bakura- but Marik chose to ignore it, too tired to even understand. Serenity and Rishid, on their part, kept giving Marik understanding, loving glances.

When the time came for everyone to return to their rooms, still slightly nervous from the incident, Ryou advised Marik to go get the most rest of all. Marik, however, said he'd stay in Bakura's room with him, if Ryou was okay with that. The albino, shrugging and nodding quietly, told Marik to get some rest, thanked him most profusely for his help, and exited the room, leaving it silent.

Marik, whose sweat was coldly drying on his bare skin, perused the sleeping Bakura carefully, knowing that this man had a knack of waking up at the most inopportune moments. He decided to stop thinking about it so much, however, and just when straight to the other side of the double bed, laid down and make himself comfortable.

Bakura was unmoving next to him. Enticingly naked, under the covers, since Mai had only let him wear his underwear…but Marik decided not to let himself have any such thoughts, and turned on his side which was away from Bakura.

He'd almost fallen asleep, a long time afterwards, when he thought he heard a breathy voice, as though carried by the wind of his dreams, whisper to him…he thought he saw black glowing blue in the light behind his lashes…

"Thank you…"

And he felt something warm touch his back, just barely.

-

The next morning, or rather, next afternoon, when he woke up, the scenery out the window was the same as always. Black, covered in ashes and factory residue…eternal night. He didn't recognize the warmth that was covering him so profusely, since he'd come to adjust to the cold surroundings of Joey and Mai's unheated house. At first, with his eyes closed in unwanted awareness, he thought it was the covers, and became jealous of Nehit, who slept in a bed with covers so much warmer than his.

The truth was, it took a while for him to accept he had awaken, and accept he had to give up that fantastic warm and cozy feeling. Therefore, when he opened his eyes to the strange sight of something…white…he didn't really know what was going on. Blinking, he saw the quality of his pillow more clearly and smelled its intoxicating scent…he realized, a bit too late, that his 'white' pillow, was actually the upper part of somebody's chest.

If that wasn't enough to wake him up, Marik didn't know what was. Startled, he made to move away from the warmth, noticing how extremely arctic the atmosphere had grown around him and remembering Bakura's ability to draw thermal energy out of the air. Marik's own body felt very cold –apparently Nehit's ability applied other bodies as well- but when touching Bakura's extremely warm one, Marik was warmed.

When he reluctantly, and with his heart beating wildly, tried to move, however, he found it was impossible. Slowly, he started realizing their exact position. Bakura was supine with Marik lying on top of him, and the black-haired man had an arm wrapped around Marik's waist and the other jutting out of the side of the bed, as was his wont.

But that wasn't the worst part. Marik felt frozen all over, and not just because of Bakura having dried him of all his body heat. He recognized the long and creamy legs he'd so often dreamed about, which were now tangled with his own. One of them was actually wrapped around his upper thighs and knees. It would be impossible for Marik to escape, he realized, with his heartbeat speeding up and his veins throbbing against his temples. Distractedly, he wondered how he'd let himself get in this situation, how long Bakura had actually held him that way… and then, with a fit of jealousy, whether Bakura slept like this with Ryou every night.

Bakura…he'd spent his life in Eruna…it was probably years and years since he'd been actually held by someone so closely…He needed comfort…and he was so warm…

But this was wrong. Marik couldn't let himself fall in love with Nehti, when he was not really Bakura…wait! 'fall in love'? Now that was a bit too much too soon, wasn't it? Carefully, Marik tried to extract himself from the other, who was holding him in the fashion of a baby holding his mother. Only in this case, Bakura was a very strong baby, who wanted the source of his heat very badly, and Marik a mother rather reluctant to leave.

There were two ways to escape utter humiliation: either he somehow manages to extract himself and leave, or he just stays there, acting like he's asleep, until Bakura wakes up and bares the brunt of the mortification himself! After a while, realizing the discomforts of the latter, Marik decided on the first.

However, the tanned boy closed his eyes, enjoying the wonderful feeling for a few more moments. Suddenly, though, in his dreamy haze of sleep, Bakura shuffled his leg in a flowing motion, raising it a bit to the level of Marik's thigh and then, Marik could have sworn, purposefully making that creepy, breathy, _incredibly sexual_ sighing sound.

Needless to say that Marik realized, judging from his already half-excited body, that if he stayed any longer, the consequences would be dire. He carefully started pushing away, cautious not to make any sound, so as not to wake Bakura and become victim to the other's rude whining about waking up in such a stance. Finally, Marik managed to extract himself from the pliant body under him. The floor and atmosphere were incredibly cold after being in Bakura's bed –quite literally- but Marik fought to ignore it as he turned around, heading for the door.

"Well, well, well" a voice suddenly muttered in his ear, making him gasp and move forward out of reflex, but Nehti had already caught him by the hair and tugged him backwards even harder. That sneaky fuck! Marik hadn't heard a single sound, but he should have known! Now he was trapped! Without a single word, Marik felt something slide extremely slowly, like a serpent, over his naked narrow hips. He couldn't look down to see what was happening, but even so he recognized the creamy, slithering quality of Bakura's long leg, which was sliding around half his lower torso. Whether this was actually sexual or offensive was hard to discern, just like Nehti' s general personality was, but one thing was for sure: it was extremely arousing. At the belated realization that he had Bakura's naked, exposed, creamy, torturous leg around his body, Marik felt his heart speed up, and tried to calm down his flushed skin, knowing from experience how perceptive Bakura could be.

"Doing a little sneaking around are we?" Nehti' s voice wrung again, and Marik felt himself be pulled painfully backwards by all the parts on which Bakura had latched onto him. Too late, Marik realized Bakura had managed to wrap around him like an ivy that brings down the tree, and he couldn't move anything to escape. Well, he could…it's just that maybe he didn't really want to escape. It's not like this was real fighting, anyway…it felt more…well.

"Only because the circumstances called for it." Marik answered, admiring himself for managing to sound so nonchalant, when in fact he was boiling from the inside out.

"Oh?" he heard what sounded like an interested whispered in his ear. He shivered "Did the circumstances call you undress me as well?" and suddenly, the tanned boy felt the other's fangs graze the side of his exposed throat.

Marik felt himself gasp and glare, even if it hit the wall in front of him "It wasn't I who undressed you." He rigidly stated, hating himself for blushing so furiously, even if it was too dark for the other to see.

There was a smirk, which was extremely reminiscent of something Marik thought he'd lost. "You sound disappointed" he practically _cooed_ in Marik's ear, making the tanned boy's temper rise.

"You sound delusional." Marik all but barked, afraid that his violent reaction would accentuate his guilt instead of the opposite desired effect.

"Do I…? The man with the red eyes…" Nehti whispered, in a tone unlike any other Marik had heard Bakura use with him before. It was almost…well, it was…Marik refused to give it a name, much less acknowledge it had made him start to shiver. Nehti…Marik was sure that even when he was an orphaned kid, he'd been in love with Nehti' s taut skin and black hair. And now, actually being so close…now he wasn't a kid anymore- he was man…and Nehti, well…seeing him again…

Marik opted to go with the safe route. "Get off me, Bakura. You've made your point."

There was an imperceptible snort, which unexplainably made Marik feel like a real loser. If he hadn't been so close to Nehti he may not have even heard it. «And what was my point?» he asked, as though he didn't know, the sadistic fuck.

«You have red eyes, congratulations. That doesn't mean anything.» Marik said, eyes twisting to the side, where he could only see Bakura's black hair. He felt the damned pale leg approach the source of all his problems, and, desperate not to let his attraction be revealed, he started struggling.

«Is that so..» the voice whispered, teeth now daring to sink in his skin, while Marik didn't even know what the hell he was thinking. This wasn't Bakura- it wasn't. But then why did he feel like Bakura, touch like Bakura...speak like him...why was this happening...?

«Why?» Marik just asked, confused, aroused and angry at the same time «Why are you doing this?»

«Doing what?» Bakura asked, one hand massaging Marik's scapl, the other slipping teasingly over Marik's lower back. The tanned boy felt invaded, assaulted all over.

«You don't even want me.» Marik complained slightly, letting his bitterness ivade his tone. Bakura snorted lightly in his ear.

«True.» he said, lusting voice and tense body neutralizing the actual statement, making Marik angry for the lies «But that doesn't mean I can't use you to find out about my past, which you refuse to tell me about..» he let it trail on. Suddenly, as though the fire had finally spread, Nehti and Bakura's so obstinately proud personalities got to Marik, and he became angry. Really angry. Why were they constantly using him? Even though Bakura was now lying about not wanting him, Marik hated the fact that he was lying altogether. He hated the fact that he was always the one who had to solve the riddles of what the other meant.

He never got what he wanted. He wanted Bakura, and he was prevented from getting even that. And now, the same Bakura, who had dared and gone and lost his memories, actually came back to him, complaining that he was the victim and demanding things!

Well, no. Marik wouldn't stick with that method anymore. He'd just had about enough half-aroused frustration and enough mental stress. Enough of being turned off and then turned on. Enough of trying to convince himself he wasn't in love with this man when he'd been loving him 600 years before, or that this man wasn't Bakura when they were exactly alike, in everything.

No. Marik wouldn't stand for it. He just wasn't prepared to treat Bakura as slowly and carefully as he had the first time around, even though he probably deserved it more, this time. However, this time, Marik knew what Bakura really was, what he wanted and what he was prepared to do. And Marik wouldn't stand, again, as the sucker of that game, trying to guide Bakrua's emotions and make Bakura see them as well. No. Bakura wanted to be a bastard? Marik was hazily aroused enough to resolve he'd become a bigger bastard.

Turning around suddenly, he caught the distracted Bakura off guard. It didn't take much- only a few moments of struggluing in the dark, keeping Bakura very close, so as not to be hit, and the positions had turned. Now they were both panting, glaring daggers at one another in the dark, where their features weren't so easily discernible.

«Let go of me!» Bakura whispered viciously, struggling with his naked, frail arms to push Marik away, which only amplified the other's desire to ravish.

«No!» Marik countered, grabbing the other's roaming hands and using them to throw Bakura on the bed. Falling on top of him, he continued to stuggle for domination now rather than from actual spite. «You want to know about your past?» he mocked, panting, as he managed to lodge himself between Bakura's smooth legs, which were bending at awkward angles in order to push the other's torso away.

«Well then _yes_. You were the one I loved. Happy now? Are you going to use me as well? Now that you don't have your memories of me, are you going to enjoy watching me hurt? You want to humiliate me by making me beg for you?» Marik guessed, now unrestrained in his frantic lust, dreams and hopes and constant nagging desire coming back to him full force «just so you can enjoy breaking me then, just because you feel broken yourself? Well I won't let you! I'll break you instead!» he cursed, voice always in a hoarse whisper, watching through sharpened vision as Bakura made small noises of plight, noramlly strong pale hands pushing now fruitlessly against Marik's chest, as the blond youngster let himself go, driving his hips sharply agianst Bakura's and eliciting a not-so-subtly disguised sound, which was chocked and could be interpreted in a number of ways.

«Don't want me, huh? _Liar.»_ the tanned man whispered in Bakura's ear, as he felt, quite undisguisedly, the hard lump that answered his thrashing pelvis. He started kissing Bakura's throat, biting and ravishing it, unrestrained, as the other was writhing and panting, making sounds that shouldn't be allowed anywhere except here, hands powerless agianst the attacker's prevailing body. One long leg had wrapped around Marik's torso, keeping his hips thrashing in place, making the friction nearly unbearable. Even as Bakura demanded to be released, his body betrayed him.

«_Stop it! _I don't_- ah!»_ Nethi –or was it Bakura?- was half-yelling, half-whispering, moans coming out along with pleas, along with curses_ «No...no...ah...nn-no...»_. at some point, Marik, utterly aroused and completely out of control, grabbed the other's thrashing hands, which were becoming caresses according to Bakura's moans, and violently pulled them away, pinning them to the sides of the bed.

«Ahh...» Bakura let out a long, drawn out moan, just as Marik wildly pinned his hands down and started wetly kissing any skin he could find, their bodies grinding and becoming eel-like in their arousal. Bakura was pushing his fingers upwards and Marik was pressing his down, making them intertwining sensually, as Bakura's constant protests had now turned to permanent, incoherent moans.

«You don't know...» Marik was trying to remind himself, spasmodic in his desire. He felt his underwear slowly slipping off from the friction, gradually, and imagined how the scene must look from above, from outside his own body. Watching his own pelvis, now nearly naked, drive into that pale expanse, that field of smoothness. The red eyes shut tight, fangs exposed to their sensual fullest...the black hair spreading out to the whole bed, like a huge fan, as he desacrated that long, thin body, both moving so slowly, like dancing cobras.

«Ma...Mar...ri...» Bakura was gasping, his eyes suddenly going wide, staring in Marik's dark amethyst ones, as though not believing so much pleasure was possible after all the pain he'd suffered.

«I'll...I'll mak...want...uh...» Marik groaned, or rather, growled, as his attention suddenly focused on the wet lips, full and pliantly open in invitation, begging to be kissed.

And he did kiss them. He kissed them hard enough to bruise, taking for himself what he'd wanteed to claim for so long. And Bakura, numbed and completely pliant, let him have his way, let him ravage his mouth. Marik didn't even bother with any form of preparation. His lust was so great, his passion so blind, that he thrust his tongue in the other's mouth violently, enjoying Bakura's strangled moan.

They kept kissing wildly, hearts beating, tongues entwing in a warm, wet inferno, rolling around in a hurricane of passion. Marik hadn't even realised when he'd let go of Bakura's hands, enough for Bakura to staple them around his shoulders and in his blond hair, keeping the blond's head near, ravaging it with all the ravenous passion his intrinsic hunger had given him.

Marik's hips stopped moving as he finally stopped the fiery kiss, and that earned him a desperate, pleading sound from the red-eyed man he was so notoriously in love with. Marik just stayed there, original anger assaulting him once more, as he watched Bakura's red eyes open half-way hazily and his sharp –Marik knew ecxactly how sharp- fangs bite his lower, puffy lip.

And suddenly, Marik got extremely angry. Angry with Bakura for making him want him so much it hurt, angry with himself for being who he was, angry with Bakura again, because he'd tried to make him believe he was just being used, even though he wasn't... Angry with everyone and everything.

«Well, then, since you don't want me, I don't want you either.» he loudly declared, watching Bakura's enlarged pupils, which had seemed to make his retina completely mirror-foggy with desire, now constrict to infernal red beasts. Without another word, and knowing he was probably destroying every single chance he ever had with this man just to satisfy his crumpling pride, Marik pushed away from the other, who was still spread out on the bed, and fought down every single primitive urge that pumped inside him. He turned away, reaching for a nearby black cape, which probabky was one of Bakura's many. And then, like a stab in the heart, it hit him: what would Bakura say if he saw this? This man wasn't Bakura. A few pleasant hours under Joey and Mai's sheets wasn't going to change that. Lust wasn't going to.

Bakura was lost. Lost forever. This scared brunet creature was nothing than what Marik was tyring to make him...but truly...he wasn't Bakura, who had stood by him. Bakura who had helped him...Bakura, who had...but they were so identical. Even in the inexperienced, unsure, ravenous way they kissed...they were...

Not daring to turn back, knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist anymore if he saw that spread out, panting body begging him to become one with it, he started to walk to the door.

Without hearing one word come from Bakura, Bakura who had so falsely tried to use him but ended up being used instead, he got out of the room.

And Bakura, hearing the other man exit, getting flashbacks that Marik could never know...flashbacks of people he'd trusted and who had betrayed him...moved under the covers slowly.

Gingerly, he gathered his limbs in a foetal position, wrapped his arms around himself, and cried.

**a/n: holy macaroni! Kura crying? Man, Marik must have really hurt him. Well, he kinda was a bastard to 'im! Why? Because he was also hurt...what about Ryou and Serenity? Their poor romance has been scorned, but not for long!**

**I know I said that the last of the intense plot was over in thischapter, which is partially true: from now on,we strictly focus on romance, Marik, Kura, Marik...Kura...I love them! (drools) However, it's not like there is no more plot development, or no plot explanations.**

**But seriously, what are your thoughts on this? I know you;re not used to the idea of Bakura being different than Ryou, but this is the chance for your imagination to runhaywire with the new dark-haired, mysterious bishie! Anyway...**

**(1) "Big Bad Rascal" is a name directly plagarized from a game named Final Fantasy 8. I just _couldn't help it!_ I'm sorry, you're right. I shouldn't have! (twinkly eyes) But I _did_ mention the copyright, and I _did _admit to my sin! And this is fanfiction, after all, so it's okay...for now.**

**Lily of the Shadow: I was so glad to hear from you again! How are you? I can't believe you still haven't given up on this! (I probably would have, by now). This isn't the last chapter, as we can obviously see from the above torturous cliffhanger. Actually, it's the beginning of the true, fanfictiony, angsty romance. Were you really touched by the previous chapter? I was too, when I was writing it. I tried to give it all a 'fuzzy' effect, as though one wasn't sure whether it was thoughts, dreams or actions. I _really loved _the part with Mokuba and Kaiba!I was practically in love with Kaiba and Yami Yugion the last chapter! This chapter was a bit more relaxed...at least until the last scene! (evil cackle) who knows what's gonna happen next! Not me! Not me!**

**v son sayian: I'm telling you, the lack of beta is _killing _me...The problem isn't when you write it, it's when you review it! You can't phathom the times my poor hair have been pulled because of a stupid grammatical error. Undoubtably, some little buggers will survive, which makes it all the more _humiliating_ to see them posted on the net! So you liked the philosophy? (random subject change) Me too...I think it sorta suited that particular part of the story! Atem...I also didn't want him to die! 290 too! I was so worried I hadn't showed his sacrifice clearly enough, but, I'm so glad I actually did! Please review again and tell me what you think about his one! Can't wait to hear your opinion. THANKYOU so much, for everything! (especially for stickin' with me!)**

**IXAnubiaIX: Love your nickname, ever told you that? Well I do, and I also love you for reviewing! THANK YOU! You don't know how much it means to me that you aren't giving up on me, especially now that I'm so close to the end! Only a few chapters to go! As you can see, I enjoyed building the angsty, soap-opery romance and then wrecking it, so now I'm going for the 'intense, passionate, unrestrained' cinematic romance instead! Don't forget to review! Thanks for everything!**

**VictimOfCircumstance: Thankyou, thankyou thankyou! (smooch) You're right- I agree that Kaiba wasn't given justice in this story, and I just owed it to his great character to dedicate something to him. Kaiba and Marik are probably the most complex characters in YGO Kaiba moreso than Marik. Marik is the abused child, Kaiba the determined youngster who turned his heart to frost in order to survive! Oh I just love, him, as you can see by the story! He's not as sentimental as I made him in the previous chapter, but, if you remember the Noa arc, he behaved in a similar way! Love this, love this! Atem...I didn't want him to die- I felt like he also was underestimated in the story! To some it may seem like I kept bashing him, but I really tried to give him justice, in the end. 290 was a lovely character as well...if this had been a different story, I may have enjoyed developing him and changing the romance and twisting and...with a character as wonderful as hem, the possibilities are endless! In the next chap,Marik's companydiscusses these deaths, and we learn more! Stay tuned! Thank you for your reviews! This is finally approaching it's end! Just a few more chapters!**

**mistress-oblivion:Angst...indeed it is the good fanfictioner's best friend. To tell you the honest truth, I don't enjoy it all that much, since it has been overdone in fanfiction, unless it fits the rest of the story nicely. Most angsty writers just focus on angst and nothing else. I sincerely try not to do that! Seto and Mokuba were quite touching- I think that too. Especially Mokuba, who, even though a practical monster, betrayed his inner turmoil through his words- I think I was crying when writing it at some point, but I'm not sure. As for this chapter...Kura is my favourite character too! I hope that I've made it clear that his personality hasn't changed- only his appearance (into a possibly even _hotter_ one)...Marik keeps angsting about how he's lost Bakura forever, fooling himself, when Bakura's really right in front of him! See, of _course I don't like angst! (!_) Anyway! Thank you so much for reviewing! (By now, that goes without saying!) Thanks for sticking with the story till the end. Thankyou. Thankyou! Hope I see your review once again! Can't wait to hear what you think of my favourite chapter!**


	22. Light

**WOOOOO!!!!!!!I'm not dead!!!!!! I'm here, after almost eight months of absence. I'm here, along with the last chapter of Rewind 1! I don't know if any of my readers are going to see this, but, if you do, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am! The workload I've had to go through this past year was ENORMOUS. It was a terrible nightmare- it still is! This is why, knowing this chapter would be the last, I tried my best to complete it, even though I'm still up to here with projects and school stuff!!!**

**There may be many grammatical, syntactical or other kinds of errors (f.ex. I might want to say 'ears' and end up writing 'eyes'. I haven't even revised this script- I was so excited at having finished it that I just uploaded it without further ado! The next step is beta-reading and correcting the whole story! More details at the end of the chapter (and the story- WHOHOO!!!) **

_I've wondered, many times, what it may be like..._

«Marik?» the soft call was barely audible. The handsome man didn't turn to acknowledge it, he just stayed put, his hand almost mechanically playing with one of Rascal's bouncing toys.

_A life...without pain._

«...Yugi?» he asked, as the wiry boy walked forward, feathery footsteps almost shy in their unobtrusiveness. Yugi didn't speak anymore, just settled next to his numb friend. They were outside Joey's house, sitting on the doorstep. It was dirty and stingy, and had the colour and feel of ash. Everything in this place looked and smelled like grime. Burned to ashes, people and places alike. A crematorium.

«You know...» Marik's subdued voice suddenly sounded, and to Yugi's ears it seemed alien, unknown. He'd never heard it so...empty before. He smiled in self-pity, since he recognized that this was what the tone Tea used with him, ever since the Game King had died. Beneath her smile he could hear the whispers in her mind: 'You're different. You're empty'...'You're not him'

«...I've heard stories...» Marik went on, tone somewhat wistful. Yugi looked at his sceptical profile a little hazily, not really seeing anything. He was doing it out of habit...when someone speaks; you look at them...But through whose eyes?_ Whose...eyes?_

«...about the Earth. » Marik finished his sentence, fist slackening and tightening convulsively around Rascal's old-fashioned stuffed ball. Mai must have made it for her son: it was one of those toys stuffed with seeds...or whatever. Marik stared at it absentmindedly, not really understanding... or thinking anything.

«I have memories» he started, and his voice broke a little at the end of the sentence, becoming chapped and dry «of a life here...» his amethyst, kohl-rimmed eyes blinked almost lethargically, as though tired of motion. Yugi gazed at him, soft yellow light from inside the house warming his brilliant features into a mellow golden hue, making him look angelic. His platinum locks covered one of his eyes and the tresses sparkled like wires of jewels.

«...but they're not mine. I can't...» Marik concluded, opening his eyes again, raising his head to look at the sky- black and fogged, just like his life. «Even so...» he started again, voice chocking, not really registering Yugi as a listener. His entire face was trained upwards, watching the swirls of grey twist into rococo formations. His eyes followed ashen particles that flew to the ground, and he made a motion to catch those ash snowflakes, but came up empty handed. «You can't capture something that's dead. »

_...No! No! Bakura!! Noooo! You said you wouldn't leave me! Stay for me, you traitor! Don't leave me!!_

«You can't...»

Yugi just stayed there, silent. He turned his eyes heavenwards, following Marik's example. To the black sky, the black buildings, the black columns. They all stretch upwards, as far as the eye can see. Within hell, where can one hope to find heaven? Can God see these forsaken lands, or has he completely forgotten them, small and insignificant, scarred and lonely, covered in the ash of the corpses of a hundred thousand souls, which rot in fire day by day over the Catacomb machines. Underneath the layers of death and sweat and blood, there they are, two useless, liliputean humans. They have nothing. They've sacrificed it all to their dead, but their dead weren't so kind as to take them along.

«It's not fair, you know, Yugi...» Marik whispered, voice becoming lost in the whirling blackness, since Yugi's eyes were blank, unseeing, unfeeling in the distance.

They'd fought to live...and for what? For what? For who? Themselves? They'd much rather had died.

I've wanted- 

----i-n that life—

«Even though we've triumphed...» Marik whispered, though he didn't know if he was divulging his secret to the ashes, or to the dark spirits he could see in the fog of his mind: one who he missed direly, the image of a man who looked like Yugi, and yet not. A mirror image of himself, made of smoke and floating incense. Mokuba's silver, steel dead eyes. Bakura's feral cry, his blood eyes dilating impossibly, his red lips becoming sensual in their scream, as his mind was being ripped inside out- - «We are not victorious.»

_----------I've believed_

_I've lost too much._

»But I'm not angry...you know? I'm surprised at myself. I thought we'd be happier...I thought we were saving...something.»

_Seto..._

_«I'm not angry...I forgive you...»_

And Yugi just stared on, completely blank, as though he were but an empty shadow, a mockery of what once was. Not even tears could flow from his hollow eyes, for he was a corpse. A walking corpse. And when the time would come to rest at last, the glass plaque over his grave would not have a name written on it, for he did not have one. He stared upwards, his mind silent, without a voice. The souls who died in this black void..What dark Angel would dare come take them away from hell's very claws?

Marik stayed suspended there, mouth aghast, swallowing the falling ashes, which never seemed to stop. Let him swallow them all, and be so filled with darkness on the inside as he was in appearance. Let them choke him to death.

_I've lost you._

«But it turns out...I've saved nothing...Yugi.»

«Nothing at all.»

-

«Go to him.» Serena just said determinedly with her quiet voice. She felt Ryou's warmth leave her side as she pushed him forth with her hand. Ryou gave an imperceptible nod, tightening his fists against his sides and seeming to brace himself.

Serenity just stayed there, worried expression obviously having become a drawn mask on her face, like the painted face of a clown, the expression worn for so long that it becomes a permanent state. She tried, honestly tried, to smile encouragingly at Ryou, but she felt that it came out wrong, as though she was making him more nervous that happy. Ryou just gave her his own strained effort of a smile and opened the glass door, which led outside, to Joey's bedroom's small balcony.

When had it happened? When had they started...to hurt each other? When had they started to despise the faces of the people they loved? She'd fought Kuru Eruna in order to save something. To hope for a better feature. To see Ryou again. But now that it was over, she was so barren inside, so sentimentally infertile, so dead, that the sight of her beloved not only didn't comfort her, but made her nauseous. The mere remembrance of that gentle face, twisted in most primal torture, was enough to end her romantic longing. And it hurt. It hurt a lot. It was as though she'd fought for nothing. The feeling she'd tried to protect was lost after all- a person can take so much until he undergoes the ultimate dehumanization. Deep down they surely still loved each other...but now...now...now they were now dead, and could not revive each other. Some thing inside her had been taken away...but what? What did they take away from me?

Worried grimace always like a caricature on her face. It had all crowded up on her suddenly. The blackness, the pain. She was suffocating. After the initial thrill of being alive, after the first shock of being desperate to forget...they had all fallen quite drastically. Marik had woken up, they'd been glad, comfortable...even happy for a while. But then, as is often the case with trauma, it all appeared in a condensed when the smallest pretext was given. The frantic misery, the dolefulness. The longing for forgetfulness and death. The pretext needed was found in the sudden vindictiveness between Marik and Bakura, which had started a few weeks ago. No one knew what had happened, but ever since that morning, when Marik exited Bakura's room with a hoarse, crazed look on his face and his hair untamed, the atmosphere of the house had been first electrocuted, then deadened. When Marik's spirit faded, so did everyone else's.

It was as though the way Marik suddenly stopped smiling, stopped eating, stopped caring, acted as the catalyst for everyone's mood. Suddenly, all the things everyone had so ardently kept trying to forget came flooding back. And as the first shock of unbelieving gladness for being alive had faded, everyone was thrust into what would be their new selves from now on. Emancipated, ghastly, constantly vigilant, almost paranoid in their fear. They'd lost too many pieces. Too many pieces. What had been done to them? They survived...but did their souls survive? Did their humanity? Did their ability to love?

Nowadays everyone had ideas. Everyone had things to say. They talked very much for the sake of hearing their vocal chords function, but they ultimately said nothing. In the past days everyone had been trying to convince themselves they were alive and breathing, and that was enough. But now they were actually trying to process it..._why?_ To her absolute chagrin, Serenity realized she couldn't explain that feeling. That sense of being...being..._stained._ Tainted forever. Unlike Marik, who had his mark carved across his entire back, Serenity and the others' marks were invisible...they weren't obvious to the casual onlooker. But they hurt just as much. Not only Yugi and Bakura had lost parts of their souls. Everyone else had as well.

Serenity watched silently, dozing in and out of the haze that seemed to permeate everyone's dreaming reality these days. It was as though it was impossible to believe this nightmare continued to follow their every waking moment, even when it wasn't really happening...Nightmares. Nightmares. The worst hell.

Like the time she'd dreamt she was still a small girl and her mother had given her presents. Only when Serenity had looked down at her cupped palms, she wasn't holding dolls anymore, but Marik's head. Marik's real head, bleeding, rotting, the lacerated mouth set in a scream. And it wasn't only one head. First it was one, then two, then three...soon there were thousands of them lying all around her, staring at her with their accusing purple, venomous eyes! They were all children, blood on their teeth. OhmyGodtheywerechilrentheywere- she'd killed them!

A happy reality can't exist for long, when dreams begin to permeate it...and the dreams came constantly. She found she couldn't focus on doing anything with Ryou...it's as though his mere presence- or anyone's presence, for that matter- actually hurt her more than it comforted her, reminding her or all the horror she'd seen when she was with them.

These were actually the final results of Rewind 1. It had been a successful experiment, after all: it had, indeed, managed to dehumanize and kill. Completely raped them, all of them, like it had done with Bakura's cold heart, and turn them into crawling lumps of flesh. Serenity felt her will being pulverized, not by Gozaburo...not by the cruelty of a thousand frozen immortals...but by her own hate of human nature. From now on, no matter where their life led them, they would all still return to roam those endless dark corridors. They would drag this hate and fury with them, like Mokuba dragged his broken toys. The ire would grip them, the intention to kill and be killed at the same time. A sudden flash hit her, as she thought of thunder and onyx eyes and frosty steel. Mokuba...that was exactly how she felt like, now. Dismantled. As though something had been broken from inside. Like a doll, that repeats the same phrase over and over again, until it becomes something from a horror story.

She forced herself to focus. Outside, she could see two outlines: one black and one white. How ironic...Black and White...Darkside and Brightside, wasn't it?

Of all of them who had suddenly been hit with catatonia, Marik and Bakura were the worst off, she knew. Even though Bakura kept trying to hide that restrictive sadness with rude words, Serenity could see right through him. Ever since the mysterious aforementioned quarrel with Marik, Bakura had turned into a complete shadow- even more so than before. Serenity recalled age-old legends about men who didn't eat and didn't sleep and couldn't live in places where there was light and happiness, unless they destroyed and hated- they sucked the blood, warmth and life out of everything they encountered. Bakura seemed like such a man. Even through all his grace and strange sense of beauty, a smile of light and glee would never deign his face. And if it did, by some twisted cynicism of fate, she fancied it could only be cruel and condescending, or a bit frightening. Fake. Or the parody of something real.

But, even through his reluctance to speak to anyone, she could clearly see that something was off with him the last three weeks. Apart from his customary snobbish, arrogant manner, something was really wrong. For one, he'd stopped speaking, even to Ryou. He'd spent day in day out perched on that balcony top, ebony feathers of hair blown like tentacles in the foggy wind, which carried with it sparks of fire from the catacombs. His black cape swished around his body in the manner of a villainous knight come out from a fairytale. Serenity could only see his back, always black and statuesque, from where she stood. Ironically, every time she'd look at him, perched black and lonesome like that, she'd immediately be reminded of a heartless vulture, cold and calculating, and a little ravenous with hate, eyeing its prey.

She saw Ryou, silver haired and opposite in countenance, approaching the crow man, and marvelled on their utter oxymoron. These people truly seemed like they had come out of fiction. In all honesty, just like Marik, they looked unlike any man –or alien- she'd ever met.

She watched Ryou's silver white tresses become strings in the wind, and observed the back of the albino's head as he silently conversed with his dark cousin. Although Ryou's body language expressed his words, Bakura's figure just remained unmoving, like a statue. Serenity just stood there, waiting. She saw Ryou give up on his efforts to communicate, faced with Bakura's unrelenting gloom, but the albino didn't move away. He stayed next to his former Darkside, becoming unmoving as well- a pillar of white in all that foggy blackness. They just stood there, silent and unmoving, staring at the nothingness of black.

Ryou was probably the only one. The only one left...After all, he hadn't lived through most of it, had he? Bakura had been in his place. Ryou was the only one who hadn't lost that much of his soul, or the only one who didn't show it. Perhaps this was why Serenity felt guilty, when Ryou caught her looking at him with contemplating eyes.

She should have seen Bakura's so occult, handsome profile turned towards the ash-filled distance. She would have found its frozen menace comforting. As it was, however, the only thing she could see was the black outline of his cloak. She couldn't really imagine him having a face. Only nails and teeth and tongue. To eat.

To eat them all alive.

-

«Just tell me, Marik...» the blonde woman asked again, resolving not to give up. Mai wouldn't let herself sink in that pond of catatonic nothingness which threatened to swallow her from everywhere around. She wouldn't allow it! She'd sort this mess out immediately, forcing even the ones who refused to accept their problems into submission. Some sort of malicious monster had darkened their small company, making the food taste bland and the water dry. And she knew where the source was coming from...

The leader can help all his friends when his spirit is alive. But when he's doleful, then everyone becomes like him.

«I can help you!»

«For the last time!» Marik rigidly stated, speaking in a tone he had never used with her before «Nothing happened! There is nothing you can do! Now leave me alone!» he stated, but she saw from his eyes that he wasn't as uncaring as he wanted her to believe. She had managed to trap him in this conversation right after dinner. As usual, he had refused to come down to eat, so, after Rascal had finally dragged him down, she'd taken the chance to trap him into a long- postponed tête-à-tête.

«Marik, tell me what's wrong.» she said apprehensively, watching his eyes dart around in search of escape «This isn't like you. I know we haven't known each other for that long, and I know you'd think there's no reason to trust me...» she looked at his face, which was stuck in a permanent grimace of half-misery, half-anger «But just tell me what's bothering you. Maybe a stranger is what you need right now!» she urged, and he immediately scoffed. She berated herself for the bad choice of words.

«And how would you know what I need?» he bit back, becoming dreadfully redundant in his denial «Why can't you leave me alone, for once, all of you!?» he directed the question not to her knowing eyes, but to the wall behind her shoulder.

«Oh?» she huffed, finally becoming aggravated. However, she tried to keep their discussion as quiet as possible, since she didn't want to alert the others and make them come downstairs again. However, keeping any discussion quiet was quite a challenge for Mai...«So you're telling me there's nothing going on between you and Bakura? Everything's just peachy, is it?» she watched his telltale tensing at the mere mentioning of the dark man's name, and immediately knew she'd hit the nail on the head. She thought she had a vague idea what this was about: a simple lovers' quarrel, which had dire consequences to everyone's mood, because of the group's empathy with each other. All she knew was that she wanted to fix this quickly, before the extended period of depression tore them apart. Joey...everyone had lost all traces of cheer and hope...something was wrong with all of them...instead of the lot of them feeling more bonded than ever, they appeared to feel sick of each other's presence. They were beginning to hate each other, since they were reminding each other of too much.

Marik's shoulders were alternately sagging and stiffening, as though he was trying to decide whether the best course of action would be to curse her and keep denying or finally accept the problem and shut up. Mai decided to give him a hand by staying quiet and letting him sort himself out. But Marik knew she was being 'indifferent' just for show, in order not to make him feel uncomfortable with female sentimentality.

He didn't speak for a long time. He just uncharacteristically kept staring at the floor. Had he been Rascal's age, Mai thought he might as well have been pouting. However, young men Marik's age didn't _pout_. They irately _glared_, as Marik seemed to be doing just now, in an unconscious imitation of Bakura.

«I knew it!» she exclaimed, in a tone which carried a portion of her traditional 'I told you so' attitude «I knew this would happen...there is nothing in the world that could get you so worked up, save for this.» she concluded, and he cursed how well she seemed to understand him. He wondered, offhandedly, if Ryou and Serenity knew him just as well, without showing it as much. Ryou probably did...but Ryou would never actually admit it.

«So, what happened?» Mai asked in a business-like tone, conveying that the sooner this issue was dealt with methodically, the better for all of them. She was beginning to feel a bit stupid for waging a one-sided conversation, but decided not to dwell on it when she saw Marik's stubborn face. Oh, honestly. Men.

When Marik didn't answer her directly, she wasn't so surprised. Receiving a straight answer from a male on a sentimental issue carries the same probability as shaving a hedgehog with bare hands. However, as usual when faced with matters of the heart, Marik got a dazed look, and quickly turned his face away, to hide his expressive eyes behind his golden fringe. It's strange, Mai pondered. Usually, Marik's eyes were narrow and reminiscent as those of a serpent, because of their occult colouring. At times like these, however, when Marik talked about the ones he cared about...his eyes became strangely larger and darker in hue, like those of a child. Mai didn't know which was more attractive, but she knew what the latter meant for Marik's psyche, so she longed to see it surface more often.

«I...I heard he had another episode last night...» Marik voice, usually deep and rigidly sumptuous, was reduced to a shy whisper of itself. The woman nodded silently and looked to the side, as the handsome man continued «...is he okay?» he asked, fighting, very obviously, not to let his worry show.

At this point , Mai finally drew the line: this was preposterous. Not only were they putting a strain on each other by refusing to help one another at this dire time, but they let their newly-turned self-destructive mood permeate everyone else's fragile balance. And she was absolutely sure it was Marik's mood that was affecting everyone else. It was always that way!

«I'm sick of this!» she exclaimed, uncaring about how she may sound and just focusing on getting things out of her chest «Sick of it, you hear?» she rasped, making Marik turn to look at her with a faded frown, which hid behind it no subtle portion of resignation «If you want to know 'if he's okay', then you should go ask him yourself! You're a big boy now, you don't need a messenger!» she admonished, and set both hands on her waist, thoroughly aggravated. Marik didn't say a word, simply keeping his face turned aside. He really tried not to summon an image of Rishid chastising him in a mother-hen fashion, but it was just inevitable.

«And, for your information: no, he's not okay. Last night was torture. We couldn't get him to sit still...god it was hell. But you just stayed in your room, didn't you? No doubt listening in on the commotion and refusing to do anything, for fear your ego would be bruised...And now you actually have the guts to ask me 'if he's okay'? God, you're something else, aren't you?» she finished with a shake of the head, finally sounding more disappointed than mad.

Marik stubbornly kept his face turned away, waiting for a long time before he responded « ...I have my reasons, woman...don't assume you know everything about me.» he finished, sounding weaker and more resigned than he intended. But his thoughts, his feelings were jumbled up together and made him incoherent. The image of his twin suddenly surfaced out of nowhere, choking him up with guilt- killing him. Dark Yugi's lordly outline flashed in his memory, and he felt he was suffocating. And Bakura...He couldn't go on like this...all the people...he just couldn't...and now he had this girl, telling him...god, forget about this. Forget about his stupid feelings. People had actually died, and he was still primarily concerned with...such childish matters?

But then again...wasn't the memory of these childish matters what had kept his resolve going in Kuru Eruna? How did he feel now that he'd survived, but realised he'd fought for nothing?!

«Don't worry.» Mai's stark voice hit him full force, and Marik unnecessarily worried if he'd been unintentionally speaking his thoughts aloud. It was stripped of all smugness for once, and laid bare in its accusation «I won't pretend I know much about you. You never let me in, anyway...or anyone else for that matter. I bet that's why you accuse Bakura isn't it? Well if I were him, I wouldn't let you in either.» and then, as though somehow coming to her senses, she approached him with her customary sway and watched the amethyst eyes rise to meet hers.

«We're not alone in this life, Marik... it took me a long time to realize that.» she whispered and turned around, not bothering even to slam the kitchen door in her wake.

-

«Marik...» it was rare for the albino to actually talk to him directly. Ryou usually made a point of leaving Marik alone, and Marik liked it that way. Ryou was...something strange, for the tanned man. He was too strong a presence of Bakura, yet too oxymoronic at the same time. Marik frankly thought that he would never be able to look at Ryou's face and see only Ryou again. After everything that had happened...

Best not to follow that trail of thought again. He'd gathered everyone here for a reason. And, true to form, they had all come to the sitting room when he asked it of them. All except for Bakura, who he hadn't actually invited anyway.

«What do you mean?» Ryou asked, probing for the lengthy explanation Marik knew he'd have to give sooner or later. He tried to be as succinct as possible. Looking at Ryou in the eyes was always disconcerting.

«I think it's time... we finished this» he rigidly stated, lavender eyes lodged on the crumpling plaster of a nearby wall. He didn't dare look at the discouraged and broken looks on their faces «I don't know about you, but I've had enough. I want to go home.»

«But Mari-» Serenity tried to interrupt, but Marik continued unphazed.

«And now that we have Kaiba Seto, the CEO of KaibaCorp, with us, it'll be easy enough to leave Earth.»

«But Marik, what about the Catacombs!? Now that we have Kaiba on our side, we can influence a lot of people! Many things can change! You promised us we won't leave until we've resolved some things! You promised...me...» Serenity insisted, standing up suddenly and drawing everyone's attention. From beside her, Yugi's and Tea's silent eyes just watched passively, not nearly vivacious enough to support her cause.

«It's futile.»

Marik appeared angry in his resignation. Perhaps he was angry with himself more than the others, who were being affected by his abandon and were becoming angry too. Rishid, Joey and Mai's faces formed slightly betrayed, disillusioned expressions. No one had expected it, really, that Marik would lose his fighting spirit to such an extent.

«Of course it's not! You know how much power Kaiba has in the IGC! With you controlling him, we could move forward a petition to shut down all Catacombs! We can try- it's not a lost cause! Ryou, come on! Say something!» Serenity countered, and looked at Ryou for support. He gave her a small smile, followed by an imperceptible sigh. His policy of non-intervention would not persevere for much longer, it seemed. He really disliked the idea of being forced in a debate with Marik. However, Marik's well-timed voice saved him the need to step in the argument.

«Use your brain, Serenity! Think!» Marik literally barked, making everyone jerk out of their reverie. The small expressions of hope that had appeared in Mai, Joey, Duke and Tristan's faces were wiped out instantly. Yugi's foggy eyes became even darker «There is no hope!» Marik continued «Do you think I hadn't thought of that? But we aren't in control! We're not in control of fucking anything!»

A stunned silence fell around the room at the hoarse sound of his voice. Everyone was staring at the blond man, who was breathing hoarsely, chest heaving, fists clenched. He looked as though he was fighting to contain himself.

After a few moments of complete quiet, and after they'd been staring motionlessly at each other, as though asking each other what to do, Marik spoke again, this time in a much more composed manner.

«Kaiba may be connected to some powerful people, but this is hardly enough to change the status quo. It takes much more than Kaiba's orders to wipe out the Catacombs. Do you have any idea how many are profiting from the slave labour? Do you have any idea how many pockets, how many elites we'll hit if we even attempt to stop this? The InterGalactic Council has no power over this! If the rich don't want it to happen then it won't! There's no point even trying!»

«And since when did you become such a wuss?» Duke pointed an accusing HyperArm at the preacher «Only a few weeks ago you were telling us that you'd discovered a person's will, can change the world!»

«That's bullshit!» Marik shouted back, enraged for no good reason, hating to hear his own irresponsible words thrown back at him.

«You should better control your words, Ishtar. Better not spew nonsense you don't intend to fulfil.» Kaiba commented, with his steel voice, unpleasant as always.

«Shut up!» Marik shouted, and was perversely satisfied when he heard the distinctive sound of Kaiba's jaws slamming against each other, almost in a pavlovian manner. They should shut up. They should all learn to shut up...what did they know of effort and tears, anyway...what did they..

«Marik, listen. I know it's going to be hard, I know we all feel fed up with each other, but we can still do this! Don't let everything we've discovered go to waste!» Serenity urged, now with the serious tone she used in scientific analyses «Marik, remember Kuru Eruna. This story is huge, and we know all about it. Imagine what will happen when we expose to the world what MultiCorp and KaibaCorp have been doing behind their backs! Imagine what will happen when we show them that their super idol is a droid!» and she unabashedly pointed at Kaiba, who made a «tsk» sound and looked mildly aggravated, but didn't deign to answer her.

Marik blinked a couple of times, at first...absolute silence followed Serenity's words, whilst everyone waited for their friend's reaction. But it seems today they were doomed not to reach any solid conclusions, since Marik started laughing, with a scratchy hoarse voice, more and more hysterically, until his guffaws became stark against the unmoving silence. Yugi faintly remembered the time he'd been imprisoned with Marik in the KaibaCorp Base. Marik had laughed much in the same way back then. Only now, there was no Bakura to calm him down.

«Haha...you think...haha...» he was rasping. Since he was turning almost purple in the face, Serenity took an imperceptible step towards him, with her hand outstretched, as though to try and comfort him.

But the moment her fingers touched his shoulder, his blond head whipped upwards, lavender eyes dilated, hair wild. And he started shouting, even louder and hoarser than before.

« Are you completely stupid, all of you? Don't you get it!? It doesn't matter what we do! The ones who are on top, the ones with the money to buy guns, will always prevail! Why should they shut down the Catacombs, huh? Why should they stop using HyperArms? Don't you get it? If there are no poor, useless, ugly slaves like us, then how can their idiot sons look superior? I've met so many morons in my life working in KaibaCorp that you wouldn't believe. They're all worthless- all of them.! But all their fathers are rich, and they've all been to top Universities, and they all have the hottest hovercraft around! And so, even though they're idiots, they get all these advantages you wouldn't ever dream of enjoying! All your sweat, the pain in your arms!» he pointed at Joey «And all your talent in CyberSpace» he looked at Yugi «Where do you think all that goes, huh? Sure, they tell you that if you work hard enough, you can make your life better...but can you?»

Joey was clasping the edge of the sofa tightly, unconsciously. He stared down at his metal nails, and could feel the familiar magma of anger burn under his skin, boil his blood. The expression on his face resembled a volcano waiting to erupt. And finally, with gold thunder in his amber eyes, he exploded.«You little fucker!» he finally shouted, not one to cave under Marik's accusations «Who do you think you are, huh? What the hell do you know of slavery, anyway? Have you ever worked like us? Have you ever felt the oxides melt your skin? Do you think you can come here and talk to me about my life! You don't know shit, you hear? You don't know shit!» And he banged his fist on the low wooden table in front of him. He force of the HyperArm ruptured the old would. Marik just stood still, his laughter temporarily paused. «And we don't need your help! Get it? You ailn't the hottest thing around! People can do great things even when you're not there, so if you wanna be a drama queen, get out of my goddamn house!» And then, slowly, as Mai and Tristan were restraining Joey from causing more damage.

«Shut up you mutt! We didn't ask for your pathetic lodging!» the distinctive voice of Kaiba's annoyed voice rang, and everyone briefly wondered if Marik had actually made him say that or if he'd said it on his own volition. Well, he certainly seemed irritated enough by Joey, so it wasn't impossible...But all such thoughts were quickly wiped out, since Marik drew their attention again, as he turned their back to them and started to talk, quietly.

«Seems like you don't like to hear the truth, then. They tell you that if you work hard you'll get promoted, right? And then, one day, if you're good and loyal, you'll get a key card for the upper levels. Hey, maybe you'll leave Earth? And you'll have an operation and you won't ever need to wear HyperArms ever again...right? Who knows, maybe you'll even get to send your kid to work in Mercury... But that's bullshit! Truth is, you'll be lucky if you even get a pension. You'll be lucky if you're even alive after ninety! And your kid's gonna start working at the Catacombs right along with you. And every day, in your kid's eyes, you'll get to see how much you've failed, how useless a parent you are, and how your life really hasn't gotten better, no matter how good you've been.»

Suddenly, Serenity got a very vivid image of her father in mind, drunk and staggering, returning home after a long night in the bar. She remembered his permanent expression as he looked at her mother: a mixture of regret and fury. Perhaps this was what he'd been thinking at the time...? That he was useless. And surely her mother's constant demands had not been helping...Perhaps he hadn't been as mean as she'd previously thought...perhaps...he'd been a victim as well. And Joey was now in the same situation...that's why Joey had always understood what their father had felt...And he'd even gone to prison for their father, once. Serenity felt tears prick her eyes as she turned to stare at her brother's golden hair and warm eyes. Would he become the same as their father, some day? Had her father been like him, some day? Why did it have to be like this? Why did they have to be slaves, who didn't even have masters? Why...did their life have to be like this? And now Marik claimed that there was no way to change it...

«Truth is, they're lying to you! Nobody gets what they want, except the rich guy- who doesn't even deserve it most of the time! If you're born poor, then you'll only get poorer, and in the meantime the rich will only get richer! Only the rich guy's son deserves free healthcare and a summer house and a nice hover, even if everybody knows that he's an idiot! They don't want their privileges to end, so they'll do anything they can to stop the Catacombs from shutting down. There is NOTHING we can do, even with Kaiba's help. Nothing...nothi...Nobody gets what they...haha...hahaha...HAHAHAHAHA!!»

«Marik!» Serenity cried, and grasped her friend's shoulder, trying to support him and prevent him from keeling over in his breakdown. Ryou's jaws clenched, his mongoloid mahogany eyes staring straight, at the void, as he quietly listened to Marik's crazed laughter. His fists were clenching on his knees and his heart was beating fast. So little had changed in the world over the six hundred years he'd lived through. So little. It seems human nature and human society would never change. The powerful would always exploit the poor...always. And the problem was, even though you start off with hopes and dreams, no matter to what social caste you belong to, eventually all these dreams are shattered when you come to grips with reality: No. You can't do what you want with your life. It doesn't belong to you. You want to write novels, or, like Joey, design CyberGames?

It must feel terrible, thought Ryou, to be told from the day you're brought to the world that you can't really fulfil your greatest dreams. Joe always looked more alive when he talked about his great Duel Monster ideas...however, deep down, Ryou realized that Joey knew he'd never make his dreams come true. The Catacombs, his family...they were keeping him back, and there was nothing he could do to change this. And the problem is that when you live like this, when you have to accept that none of your expectations can't come true, that the purpose of your life is basically to create the wealth of someone else, that your children will grow up to see that their father is a useless, poor, deformed slave...when you realize all this, then you start hating.

You start hating the expectations of your loved ones and, eventually, you start hating your loved ones too. Your kids, your wife, your husband...your parents...you start to suffocate from each other, you start wishing you'd never met anything that you love, because then you wouldn't hurt each other simply by existing. Joey and Mai were lucky to be young and in love...but how long could it last? As the years would pass and they would both have to come to terms with the fact that they could provide nothing to their children or to each other, could the freshness and genuineness of their relationship last?

There was a pang in Ryou's heart, and the blank space between his blazer and his bare chest suddenly became extremely pronounced. The simultaneously warm and cold comfort of the Millennium Ring was missing. This absence had become a presence of its own. Sure, Bakura was still there, and Ryou could talk to him if he wanted...but, at times like these, when Ryou had always considered other people's emotions...the knowledge that he would never be alone and would always have a companion, even if said comrade was Bakura, was always a comfort. And a person as lonely and timid as Ryou had always failed in social contact.

The warmth in his heart that could never be extinguished had been Bakura, his Darkside...but the dark flame had now been extinguished, and Ryou's skin and teeth and nails felt colder than ever. It was as though a presence, a life had suddenly left his breath. When he looked in the mirror, his face looked older, his skin more loose. Only when Serenity stood by him, even though lately she wasn't her normal lively self, he could feel a bit young again. A bit rejuvenated. Serenity had on him the same effect of warmth and comfort that he was in such dire need of, ever since Bakura had...Oh God he couldn't even say it...and he could only imagine how it must be for Yugi, whose Darkside not only had been dislodged from his body, but had disappeared..._disappeared... _Dark Yugi had...Ryou couldn't even think it, unable to help imagining Bakura undergoing the same thing...Yugi...all the life in his eyes...had died that day.

Expecting to see the look of misery that had become customary, Ryou turned to the young, leather-clad boy. However, what he saw startled him, and he suddenly remembered where he was and what Marik had just said, about social injustice and pain. It seems the others had been affected by this, seeing as Yugi, the most deadened of all, now had this very strange expression...his eyes had a...a glow, again, and were now set in a frown, staring at the distance. And Tea, from his side, was also scowling, her sapphire eyes sparking at their thoughtfulness, fixed on a small smudge of the carpet. Ryou knew that her focus was entirely on Marik's words. And Joey with his friends...needless to say his amber-gold eyes had become the colour of a supernova with sparks of feral ire inside- an ire as old as the constitution of history, and human community, for it was not the first or last time the rich would exploit the poor.

And as the harsh echo of Marik's strangled laughter filled his senses, Ryou felt, for once, the blood flow hotter in his veins, and the fury of righteousness make his heart pump. Marik was laughing now, but now and then Ryou would see a shine of moistness in his amethyst eyes. Different people had different ways to express desperation, and Ryou had learned early on that, ironically, Marik's way was through laughing.

Looking at all his comrades, seeing the sparks that had appeared in their eyes for the first time in days, feeling this electric anger around him, the coldness gripping his gut, the laughter which sounded like the calls of crows for their dead...he became alive again.

He wondered if anger and pain were the only experiences he could consider human anymore. What Serenity's small attempts at comfort had not managed to do had easily been done through ire and memories of Eruna. With anger, he felt alive, again, after who knows how long. Apparently, Ryou thought, as he saw Tristan's HyperArm nails digging into the skin of his fist, so did everyone else.

-

«Nobody gets what they was in this world! Nobody except the rich-»

_«You can't control the world, Kaiba! You don't deserve to be immortal just because you can afford it! This is something that the whole world-«_

_«Shut up!»_

Yes. His father had been a fool as well. He'd heard it all before.

«If you're born poor, then you'll only get poorer, and in the meantime the rich will only get richer! You can't escape this prison!»

The voice, like the midnight cry of the jackal, reverberated through the walls, the shaggy furniture, the crumpling wood of the staircase he was standing on... even the rags he was wearing. He could almost taste it: the fury. The vengeance. He fed from it, drank it up like red wine, felt a kind of joy at hearing such proclamations of pain and hatred.

_«Urgh...»_

_«I pay you and you find a way! Got that? You're a worm, Bakura...you hear me? A worm. You're crawling on the floor, you're licking my shoes in order to give you and you're pathetic wife a scrap of food to eat...and I will give you food and a home and a job. And that little whinging kid of yours will have anything he wants...as long as you do what I say...because if you don't-«_

_«d-dad..?»_

_«Well well well...look who's here-«_

_«Nehti! What are you doing here? Get out!»_

_«But-«_

_«Of course you shouldn't leave, Nehti...see, what a pretty name...I have a son too you know...His name is Noa…maybe sometime, you two can meet and play together...in fact, if you're a good boy, I may even make you Noa's permanent playmate-«_

_«Nehti, don't listen to him! Just get out!»_

_«U-um- - «_

_«Yes...go on then...play along...daddy and I have some serious business to talk about...isn't that right?»_

_da- - -_

_«There's a key under the carpet in the attic-«_

_«No mom!!...I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!!»_

_- «Oh..what is it...does the baby want to cry...Don't worry...we'll take good care of you from now on...ha...haha...hahahaha!!»_

_«Father! Father!!»_

_«I told you...I'd make you worthy of Noa's attention...didn't I...»_

_«You sick fuck! What did you do to him?! Touch a hair from his head and I swear I'll kill you! Ryou!!!... I'll kill you, you bastard! Ryou answer me! RYOU! I'll kill you, you hear!! I'll KILL YOU!!»_

Marik should suffer. They should all suffer. They should suffer like he suffers, and they should hate every single breath they draw. Just like he does.

«It's no use! We can't change the world! It's not only the Big Five! There are thousands of them, people like Pegasus, who use the poor in Yango- - «

«But Marik, that's exactly why we have to stop it! If anyone has a chance at trying, then we do!»

«Don't you understand, Serenity?-»

They should...suffer. he should let them make mistakes and laugh at them...and he should applaud Marik's resignation...because Marik is disgusting- He's as disgusting as-

_«I won't let you get away with this, Kaiba!»_

_«You ungrateful idiot! I gave you everything: I fed your whore and your brat, and how do you repay me? How?»_

_«The world should know...they should know who their hero really is, Goza-«_

_«Shut up !...You're going to die, you hear? You're going to die, Bakura...you're going to die and I'm going to live. I'm going to live forever using the thing you invented for me, you hear? And when you die, your pretty wife and spoilt kid will be too far down Eruna to cry for you- - I'm gonna kill you for what you did to me- what you almost did to me- you little fuck!! Don't you get it?! You'll never-«_

«-we'll never»

_**«-win!»**_

**-**

However, it seems that even Nehti's heart had some tricks left to play. It deceived him quite dexterously. He'd meant for his legs to talk him back to the silence of the balcony...not forward, to the source of all his hatred.

-

The wavy shadow of black fabric that spilled in the room from the staircase was incomprehensible for a few moments. Then, Marik's eyes became wide in their surprise. The pressure in his lungs became inconceivable.

«Yes...you'd like for that to be true, wouldn't you...coward that you are...» the slithery voice was carried across the small living room, through the humid atmosphere, to ring in echoes within Marik's ears. The silence that fell amongst them was immediate and unprecedented. Those few who hadn't already risen to their feet, like Ryou and Tea, now stood up, looking hoarsely first at the newcomer and then at Marik. Had one been looking carefully, they would have seen the identical flames of hope that were kindling in all their eyes.

The silence continued. Marik was staring, first with surprise and then with longing. He probably didn't understand that so much of his thoughts were showing, though. He was obviously caught unawares by the pronounced redness of Nehti's eyes and the deceptive, striking glare on his face, which resembled Bakura so strongly that it became almost tragicomic. And the more open and readable Marik's expression and thoughts were becoming, the more shut off, obscure and rigid Nehti was. His blood eyes, cold and calculating were moving accusingly from one face to another. And the small smile on his lips, as Serenity had assumed, was a grimace of absolute malice. Even Rishid and Ryou felt the chills of a dark aura surround them, and suddenly the air around them felt colder and biting.

Finally, after the prolonged quiet, Marik apparently found it in himself to speak. And behold the irony, for when Marik now spoke his tone was meek- nothing like the boasting proclamations of futility he'd just been preaching.

«What...are _you _doing here?» the attempt to sound irritated and smug was really rather laughable, not to mention ill-timed. It seems Nehti thought so too, if the challenging smirk he displayed was any indication. It seems each of us have their own buttons, which make us weak when pressed. Maybe the cold, condescending look on Nehti's face was Marik's button. Ryou looked at the blond man discreetly, biting the vein pulsing frantically on the side of Marik's neck which wasn't covered by his golden necklace. And the muscle pumping at the side of Marik's jaw. His eyes were fighting to become narrow and composed, but were obviously incapable of obeying his probably frantic thoughts.

But Nehti just looked at all their faces, one by one. The tension that was palpable in the air was fortified tenfold, suddenly, and everyone felt simultaneously colder and warmer than before.

«What am I doing here? Shouldn't you ask yourself the same thing...Marik» his strange accent gave emphasis to the «r», making the sound resemble a roar and a purr at the same time. It was eerily disconcerting, just as the rest of Nehti's personality. Even his black hair, which so obviously resembled the formation that Dark Bakura's white hair had always had. It was the same, and yet different. Even the malicious expression on his face was extremely familiar and extremely alien at the same time, since all of them had seen the exact same grimace, but through Ryou's body's features. Nehti's own features, more graceful and soft than Ryou's, made the grimace itself even more disconcerting, since one couldn't tell if one should feel threatened or flattered by the attention.

Marik didn't answer, he just stood there trying to gather his wits, making Mai, and Joey, secretly smirk.

«I just happened to be strolling down the stairs, and unfortunately overheard your intimate ponderings...I then experienced an...enlightenment, shall we say? » a pale hand came up and Nehti tapped his long index on the side of his cheek, in mock thoughtfulness. It would seem almost playful, if it weren't for his cruel eyes, which made the entire gesture an instrument of sarcastic hate.

«Yes, I travelled down memory lane...it then occurred to me that this fan club of yours must be made aware of certain aspects of your personality...Mariku. That is to say, they should be warned not to expect too much of you, since you really are a fragile child of nature...» he said this last phrase with a mock-concerned, sarcastic look. The others warily turned to look at Marik, who, under such scrutiny, was coping quite unimpressively with the verbal assault. His lips were alternately stiffening and relaxing, his eyes blinking twice as frequently as usual.

«Now listen, everyone!» Nehti said, with a very unfitting 'cheerful' tone, which made his voice seem even stranger and more chocked-hoarse than usual. It sounded more like a dirge than a happy exclamation «Don't take him too seriously! He's very likely to say things he doesn't mean...am I right? In case you didn't understand that last sentence, Mariku, I just said a liar, and a cheat. » the brash conclusion was reached, a small smile of bliss, obviously unfitting, was etched like a grimace on Bakura's face.

«And you're also a coward. Indeed you are not the kind of person who would commit themselves to a cause and fight against the odds. Like my idiot father, my idiot sister and my idiot mother, you're perfectly happy to sit around, doing nothing, waiting for someone to wipe their ass with you and then throw you away.»

Gasps were heard all around, not so much by the things Bakura was saying but by the positively maniacal look he had acquired. Marik's look of utter blind fury was also something to behold and gasp. «I have concluded, therefore» his gaze slipped from one face to the other, smiling in a mostly homicidal manner, as his eyes slipped over Serenity and Yugi «That the lot of you, are all cowards, insignificant puny pawns of fate, and all deserve to die, since you would never dare stand up to the odds and face the facts.» his smile did not return, and he was instead talking in what seemed like a practiced monotone, unfeeling voice. «In fact, I personally believe you deserve to suffer. And you shall, if you continue following this principle coward's advice» he looked intensely at Marik, who was trembling by now- albeit it wasn't clear if he was trembling with rage or not.

«Nehti sto-«

«Ah...Ryou...» Nehti seemed to be reminiscing, since he briefly closed his eyes and smiled, then opened them again «You're very pure. I must publicly admit I repent. The torture you endured for my sake was entirely my responsibility, and yet I never clearly supported you as steadfastly and truly as I should have.» His eyes opened again, became pinned on Marik and didn't move again. «But not to worry Ryou. I have come to see the light. In fact from now on I shall help you. The two of us cannot allow any more liars to use us. I will protect you, Ryou. I will protect you from yourself. I have concluded, after my long meditation in Kuru Eruna, that all men, and especially those who aspire to fraternize with me, are firstly a nuisance and secondly a threat. »

The voice started to become even hoarser, and Joey, Tristan and Duke, not to mention Marik, began to feel the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end. A very distinct smell started to fill the air they were breathing, the smell of fear. And as they looked at each other, the room around them changed shape and substance, becoming a long, stretched out corridor, with dark alcoves and unseen doors, with ghosts roaming in the darkness. And like a beacon for all evil to gather, Nehti's red eyes were glowing, like spilt blood on an ore of fire.

«It is deemed logical that I rid myself of nuisance. And when I am finished, I shall take my revenge» his eyes refocused from Marik's alerted stance, to Kaiba Seto's cold, unrepentant features. «And I shall purge this world of all evil! You have humiliated me for the last time, you puny mortal!» he now barked at Marik's face «Now is the time to pay the price, for angering the dead!»

«I'm not the one who'll pay the price, Bakura! You're the liar and the cheat! You're the one who pays tonight!» Marik broke down finally, pointing irately at Nehti and not realizing what he was actually saying «It's time to end this once and for all! Your mere presence disgusts me, your fiend from the underworld! I begin to think I never should have saved you, since you don't deserve it! You think I've angered the dead by not doing what you want me to! Well then I'm sorry for the dead, 'cause they'll hate me for sending you back!»

«Oh is that so? Weren't you the one who was telling us how it's futile to even try and change?»

«I'll kill you, you fuck! You don't deserve to talk to me! You don't deserve to be called Bakura!»

Something snapped «And you don't deserve to live anymore! If you love him so much then why don't you follow him!»

«I gladly would, right after I kill you, of course, since you're supposed to be him, aren't' you? »

«Oh? In that case, I'll enjoy torturing you for eternity, when I slit your throat!!»

«Nehti, Marik liste-«

But it was too late, for, with a dark swirl of black, Bakura had grabbed the nearest wooden beam and pulled himself up to the ceiling with almost superhuman strength and speed. What happened next was so fast and frantic, that no one really had a chance to realize what was going on, until they saw the faint gleam of metal in the light. The shadow over them held the dagger in his hand, almost experimentally. «It seems there are a few things I have dear Kaiba to thank for.» Nehti said and, followed by the yelps and screams of the women, started to literally crawl on the ceiling, scratchy nails digging into imperceptible hooves of the plaster. When he found it too difficult to crawl, he literally jumped forward and reattached himself. It took a few moments for the stiff and baffled Marik to realise that what Bakura was doing was an action no known human can naturally perform.

«He's got a knife! Mai!» Joey's voice could be heard, along with the screams of Tea and Serenity. But Marik had no time to react, since, by the time he realized what was happening, the _thing_ had jumped directly from over his head, willing to crush him with weight. Marik, barely able to react in time, made a frantic somersault backwards, hitting one of Mai's vases and toppling a coffee table.

«Get the kids out! Hurry!» Joey had Tristan help him get Mai safely out of the room, whilst Yugi, Ryou and Duke were practically towing Serenity and Tea outside. When they reached a safe angle, they all observed, terrified, the unexplainable occurrence. Rishid lingered for a moment. He stayed there, staring, unconsciously trying to help his friend. But when Joey came and tugged him out of harm's way, Rishid also back stepped.

«I want you to hurt!» Bakura's voice was heard, and Tea actually whimpered, since it echoed around them like a scream from that god-forsaken place «I'll make you scream!!»

«Shut up!»

And indeed, the fight was superhuman. Nehti moved like a jaguar...no, a bat...any comparison would fail! It was like a black cloud, moving with such speed and evasion that no one could separate true movements. All they could see was an obscure, dark cloud and a periodic gleam, as the light caught on Bakura's dagger. Marik seemed to be using all of his strength to contain Bakura, unable to land even a punch in the effort to simply defend himself from Bakura's artificially enhanced supersonic speed. The others prayed and wondered how Marik was coping, since he was unarmed and Bakura was holding a knife- god knows where he'd got it. Mai didn't put it beneath him to pilfer from anyone!

At some point, if the sickening cracking sound was any indication, Bakura landed a solid hit, hooking his elbow behind Marik's knee and punching it from the front with all his strength. With a faint scream, Serenity called «Marik!!», worried that his knee might be crushed, Marik let out a yelp, and within seconds, toppled over Bakura's crawling stance, using his body weight to dislodge his leg from Bakura's rigid hold. He keeled over and made a somersault practically on Bakura's back, grabbing Bakura's cloak in the process and forcing Bakura to be dragged along with him.

«I hate you!»

«I hate _you_!» they were screaming at each other, as Marik uncharacteristically grabbed Bakura's prostrate body by the roots of the hair and started shaking him, causing Bakura to inadvertently drop his knife. He kept trying to hit Marik in the groin, but to no avail, since Marik's body was also filled with strength enhancers, and he wasn't letting go of Bakura any time soon.

«I want you dead!» Bakura was saying, his arms flailing around, scratching at whatever bare piece of Marik's skin he could find. «I want you dead, so much!» he groaned, finally managing to hit Marik's ribcage and cause Marik to dislodge the black hair. Unfortunately for Marik, Bakura lost no time in recovering, grabbing his dagger from the floor within seconds. Like a viper for the strike, he prepared a fatal wound with lethal accuracy, aiming for the side of Marik's chest.

Seeing what the opponent was preparing to do, Marik immediately backed off, making Bakura miss by a few inches. However, the killing rage had just begun and Nehti was wielding his dagger in waves in front of Marik's chest. Eventually, as Nehti kept advancing, Marik would have no place left to go, and then-

«Marik!» Rishid's tormented voice rang and, unable as he was to stop his compulsive action, he jumped back in the rampaged room and sprang towards the duel. Ryou ran behind him, intending to stop him from being hurt. Nehti was uncontrollable at this state- and possibly so was Marik. It was too dangerous to approach them and try to prevent them .No one was as powerful as they- not even Ryou. If they tried to interfere with this fight they would only get killed, themselves.

«I hate that I can't-« Nehti had started saying, more to himself than to his opponent. As Marik was left with no place to go, seeing as he was between the wall and Nehti's knife, he jumped upwards in a desperate attempt, fighting to grab a wooden or metal bean, with which he could climb upwards in an effort to escape the dagger. But whatever Marik did Bakura could do faster. Within seconds, and whilst still threatening to stab Marik, Nehti grabbed hold of the nearby picture frame, using it as a means of elevating himself and sliding upwards on the wall. Then, whist keeping hold of the wall with his one hand- nails digging in crumpling cement again, he supported himself and tried to stab Marik sideways. Marik used this opportunity to jump downwards and run away, but, again, Bakura was much too fast.

«MARIK WATCH OUT!!» Serenity literally screamed, as she saw Nehti's black form lunge on Marik from behind. Having no time to react, Marik could do nothing as Bakura brought him down, pale face drawn in a grimace of bloodthirsty triumph. Within seconds, Marik found himself lying supine, with Nehti's body weight pinning him down, with a knife poised right in front of his neck and with Nehti's eyes wide and red with victory. Even now, Marik hated his mind for thinking of Nehti's cruel expression, which resembled dark Bakura's so much in its cold, frozen beauty. Only Nehti's eyes weren't the only thing alive on his face, like Bakura's had been. No, Nehti was alive. Even though the air was cold, his body was hot and pounding with a heartbeat. And his eyes were like mirrors of the heat in his blood, since now they were red and brilliant with exhilaration. And his black hair, like dark feathers, were arranged in a halo of wild spikes around his pale, accusing face. His red bandana had slipped off at some point, and his expression seemed somehow much clearer now than ever before. From somewhere in the side, Marik heard Ryou's gasp and knew that everyone else had noticed too, how much this stranger resembled the man he'd loved. But, unlike Bakura, Nehti hated him...hated him for what he'd done...

«I'm going to kill you now...» Nehti said, as an afterthought, but still seemed frustrated «Look afraid.» he instructed, as he started shaking Marik's head. The somewhat calm resignation in Marik's eyes was not what he'd wanted, damnit! He wanted fear, screams...pleas of forgiveness. Proclamations of atonement. He was not ready for this kind of acceptance.

_I'm...sorry..._

_Thankyou, Mariku.._

«Look afraid, damnit! You're going to die!» Nehti roared, Teeth bared in a snarl, eyes narrowed, fighting with his own mind. But as Marik looked at him, with those deep amethyst eyes, and his golden hair, and his strangely childlike face, a certain image suddenly filled his mind, the picture of a little boy passing by his glass cell in Kuru Eruna, A little boy, eyes wide and scared, expression nullified. Nehti had thought, at that time...he'd thought...

«Damn you!» he growled, and rushed to unclasp the necklace from around Marik's neck in an effort to stab his throat. In the meantime, Ryou and Yugi, who had finally come back in the room since there was relative calmness, tried to restrain the black haired man. But when Bakura turned to growl at them and they saw Marik give them a small nod from outside Nehti's sight, they stepped back, warily, eager to see where this would lead.

«No...» Marik suddenly said, drawing Bakura's attention as he slowly raised his tanned palm and pressed it over Bakura's which was holding the knife. Imperceptibly moving, Marik led Nehti's palm downwards, until the pointy edge of the dagger was over his chest, directly aiming at his heart. They just stayed there, Marik looking at Nehti, who was looking at his hand.

_«...Well I won't leave you»_

_«Thankyou-«_

_How can I be in...lo-_

«Urgh!» Nehti grabbed his temples with both hands, unconsciously dropping the dagger as he squeezed his skull, trying to make the stupid voices stop. But they weren't stopping. They weren't stopping...And every time he remembered that night three weeks ago, and the fire he'd felt...and every time he opened his eyes he saw Marik's hopeful expression right in front of him...

«Urh...uh...» the right side of his head was pounding- could this be one of his migraines. no...it hurt more than usual...it was like something was being squeezed to come out but was impossible to reach «Shit...» he started saying, and Serenity gasped from the side, gripping Ryou's sleeve, hoping against all odds that it was happening...that he'd remember once more...

«I...I...must...» Nehti was rasping, impossibly hoarsely «I must...kill...that man...»

_«And your pretty cousin...we used him all right...»_

«I...I must...»

_«What is that thing??!»_

_«Don't you recognize it...it's you!»_

_«No! No! That-that...NOO!»_

«That...that thing...» Nehti gasped, his hands shaking. Ryou tried to shake his cousin out of concern, but Marik bashed Ryou's arms away, realizing that it might be happening...that it might...

_«Huh...were...were am I...everything is so black...why...Ry-Ryou? Why are you so...so old..? Why do I feel so strange...it's like I'm here, but not really here...I...»_

_«Erase the memory»_

_«k-kaiba?»_

_«Wh-what are you...a spirit? A ghost of some sort?»_

_«I'm Marik Ishtar...now that I gave you my name-«_

_«Call me Bakura...just...Bakura...»_

«That thing...» suddenly, Nehti's back stop shaking, and he uncovered his ears. His head was still pounding, but something had changed...it was as though he'd suddenly remembered something very important...he was hurting so much at the time, so he'd forgotten in the commotion...they had been torturing him, and he didn't know for what reason. It's not like they ever explained to him what they did, anyway...and at that time he had paid no mind to it...They woke him up one day, from his quiet spot on that disgusting machine...And that man...Alpha, had walked in again, and shown him a microchip...and Nehti hadn't really understood at that time...Alpha just put it in the disk and said something about simulations and stuff, and...and...and then...

«I know...» Marik's voice suddenly sounded in his ears, and Nehti belatedly realized that he'd been speaking aloud. No he'd been stammering. He didn't know what to do when he realized this, nor what to say. He was lost. There were two timelines running in his head: one of the past, when he'd seen himself as a faceless hologram-he'd seen himself inquiring where and who he was- and then there was the timeline of here and now, when he was himself again, when he was real...At some point, he knew...he remembered being the hologram...but then...he was...he was himself...again...how? How can...

«It's very complicated» Marik's voice rang again, and Nehti wondered when the tanned hands had landed on his shoulders, and when he'd stopped sitting on Marik...And he wondered when all the other idiots had suddenly appeared around. And then his eyes fell on the pillar of coldness in the corner, the man called Kaiba, and Nehti couldn't really think anything more after that. With sudden force he shoved Marik away, lost no time in grabbing the trusty dagger and lunged toward Kaiba, The movement had been too sudden for anyone to react in time, and Bakura's blade was buried, swiftly and cleanly, in Kaiba Seto's lower abdomen.

Horrified screams, included those of Serenity, Tea, Mai, Yugi and Ryou all sounded at once. The others just lunged forward, temporarily forgetting that Kaiba was a droid that could not be harmed. Marik was amazed by Nehti's action and vaguely concerned at the fact that natural red blood was now flowing from Kaiba's wound. However, Seto seemed extremely disinterested, if not flatly bored with Bakura's antics.

«Die!!» Nehti shouted, raving now like a lunatic, as images of his own face, cold and scowling in holographic form attacked him. The more he remembered Gozaburo's smirk as he watched, the more he hated and the more he wanted to drink the blood of revenge. «Bleed! Bleed!!!!» He shouted, and lost no time in taking out the dagger and stabbing Kaiba relentlessly again and again. But Kaiba's scowl was not altered, despite the blood that was now covering Nehti's hands. The others, namely Yugi, Ryou and Joey, as well as Marik, were trying to prevent Bakura from destroying Seto's robotic tissues more than necessary, and mainly for Nehti's own mental health. Who knew if he'd regret 'killing' someone later on.

«I'd move outa the way if I were you, moneybags...» Joey said, scowling as he saw the cataract of blood leaving Kaiba's body. Now if there was one person Joey hated, it was this good for nothing rich guy. But seriously...even he deserves a break...

«I want to drink your blood, Kaiba!!...haha...I want to cause you pain!» Nehti laughed darkly, as he actually tried to duck and lick the blood d. Marik strained to hold him back, as Ryou gulped and make obscure retching sounds from the side.

But Kaiba's expression wasn't showing much pain, and the more silent he kept, the worse Nehti's disposition became «Die, you bitch!! Die! For my father!! For me!!! Your whole family are thieves and murderers!!! Now it's your turn!»

Marik sighed a bit, seeing the desperate gleam of righteous hatred in Nehti's eyes. Reluctantly, he made up his mind, and vaguely aimed a thought at Kaiba 'just act like your dead, Kaiba...please' Marik added, feeling a little ridiculous for even asking this. Kaiba, with a vaguely disgruntled look towards the one he called 'that idiot Ishtar', following the order. Joey and Yugi had thought they'd never see the day that they'd witness Seto Kaiba dropping to his knees and falling prostrate in his own pool of blood, chest unmoving, eyes unblinking. Wow. Mai vaguely wondered if he really _was_ malfunctioning or if he was just acting dead. A quick look towards Marik unimpressed face reassured her.

But on Nehti the effect was much different. He dropped the dagger over Kaiba's form, brought his blood-bathed hands near his face and smelled their deadly scent in glee. This blood, which he didn't know was provided from Kaiba's personal blood bank, was the blood he had sworn would avenge him. When they'd killed his father. When they'd raped his mother and sister again and again and again. When they'd operated on Ryou's brain right in front of his eyes. When they'd let him watch as they dissected, lacerated, burned and mutated little children. When they'd made him see his own face for the first time after five years- the gentle brown eyes and the crooked- a bit awkward smile- that he always had had was now replaced with a twisted sneer, like that of a monster, with fangs and red eyes, and with the hateful tattoo, right in his face...how dare they...how dare they...

«It's all right...he's dead...he's dead now, Bakura...you've killed Gozaburo's son. There are no others...see? You've avenged them.» Marik gestured towards the corpse, looking intensely at Nehti's face for any sign of disgruntlement...All he could see, however, was a calm composure, as though this was what Bakura had needed to do all along, in order to finally calm his spirit.

«And...Noa? And Gozaburo?» Nehti asked suddenly, and was aware of the sudden flinch that every single person around gave. Except for Marik. Marik just stayed put there, watching the pale face, without blinking.

«What about them...?» he asked, pulling Bakura aside slightly, careful not to let Nehti realize that he was being led away. But Nehti didn't seem irritated by this. In fact, after Kaiba had finally fallen, supposedly giving his last breath, Nehti seemed as composed and quiet as ever. His eyes...seemed calm, serene. The red in them did not swirl as a fiery inferno, but as blood red waters calm after a storm.

«Are they dead?» he asked, pausing in his steps and turning to look at Marik. Joey and Yugi looked at each other, and Ryou and Serenity kept silent. It felt as though this was the answer, the answer they had all been unconsciously looking for these past few days.

«Yes.» Marik stated, with a tone of finality «You killed them.»

And at Nehti's distrustful look, Marik gave a sincere nod of the head. Ryou, seeing this, took a step forward, realizing that Marik...Marik may need his help.

«It's true, Bakura,» he said quietly, with his distinctive serious tone «You killed them when you were inside me, as my Darkside...We all killed them together. And Yugi's friend, who left us now...he also helped us kill them.» and then, as an afterthought, after seeing Marik's grateful look, he turned to his right with a hopeful look of his own and stretched his hand towards the auburn haired girl. «Right Serenity?»

And Serenity, slowly, with a shaky smile of her own, feeling as though she was treading Earth's ground for the first time after ten years again, stretched her hand and clasped Ryou's palm «Yes...we did. They're gone now...They're all gone.»

«That's right!» Tea's melodic voice suddenly chimed, the sweet tone like a glass of fresh water in Yango's desert «We did it together with all of our friends!» she said, and raised her first in the air with a twirl «Even though we lost people that we all loved dearly..» she looked at Yugi's eyes, which were brimmed with unshed tears and smiled her most potent, bright smile «...they're still here with us! They are still here within our friends!...Even though we can't see them.»

«Yeah! And now with them dead...there's a whole lotta stuff we can do...ya know? Even though it's gonna be hard...» Joey started saying, looking at Marik and Serenity. He also clenched his hand in a fist and looked at Tristan and Mai.

«Well...we've been through the hard part, haven't we? The dreams won't stop coming...and it may be horrible for a while but...» Mai started saying and then looked at Marik with a meaningful look. And Marik, with a sudden flash of memory, recalled something she'd told him...a few days ago...

«But we can't go on living alone...right Mai?» he finished, and looked at Nehti- no. At Bakura, whose red eyes seemed disgruntled, oppressed by this sudden storm of friendliness that was surrounding him.

«Right.» Mai smiled. «So...are we gonna keep living together? Do we want to try improve our lives together?» she asked, her sparkling eyes shining like jewels, her blonde tresses caressing the sides of her beautiful face, which was so at odds with her monstrous arms.

«Yeah, Mai.» Marik smiled, and suddenly realized something he'd been thinking for a long time «We do. We wanna make your arms beautiful again.»

«Hey, don't sweet talk my wife, lover boy! Bat your pretty eyelashes at someone else!» And they all laughed, freely and together, for the first time in what seemed like ages.

A small pause ensued, when everyone just stared at each other, as though aghast of their sudden revelation- that they still had the ability to bring joy and comfort...and even a warm sense of acceptance to each other. No one seemed to remember that kaiba, even though a droid was beginning to feel weary of lying on the floor without letting his usual functions take place. And Bakura really had damaged some vital tissues...he'd need a circuit chekup soon. Blasted hippies.

«Maybe we should make Kaiba out of here...he's spoiling my carpet...» Mai said as an afterthought, but then regretted saying anything, since she remembered they were supposed to make Bakura think he'd killed off Seto for good.

«Should we?» the red eyed man wondered aloud, and it actually took a few moments of stunned silence, and a few looks toward his raised eyebrow, for everyone to realize that...yes, he was joking. They wondered how they would have felt like if they sat to think that Nehti had just 'murdered' a man in cold blood. But now they were all laughing about it, reassured that Kaiba wasn't really dead...and everyone thought he deserved to wipe the floor a bit, anyway, after everything he'd done to them...bah, he'd be ok. And now that Bakura seemed calm, what more did they want?

«Wait guys! Where are you going?!» Tea's sweet tone became indignant suddenly, as she saw Mai and Joey moving to check if their kids were alright and the others splitting up to pick Kaiba body. Bakura was starting to ascend the stairs quietly, and everyone wisely avoided him.

«We didn't stretch our hands to draw our sign! Let me draw a common mark on our hands, so that we'll all remember we're part of one thing!»

The groans, laughs and even the rolled eyes were heard from all directions. Upon hearing them, Tea gave a small smile and shook her head. Even their collective mocking her pleased her immensely, seeing as it proved how warm and comfortable they all felt again. Sometimes she felt that no one understood this apart from her, but she felt it was deeply true that the small things of every day life can be the bases of stability and confidence at times of crises. When one feels connected, even through a small friendship...then they are not likely to betray each other. Even in panic.

She looked at Yugi on her left, who was smiling at her with the trademark goofy-but-kind grin she hadn't seen for such a long time. Feeling him pull her in a hug, she smiled as well, burying her face in the crook of his neck

And when she smelled his familiar, sweet scent of pine, she knew everything was right again. And strangely enough, it had taken Kaiba's 'death' to liberate not only Bakura's sprit. But all of them.

-

«So this is it?» Bakura asked in his quiet voice as he held up the golden item, which appeared trampled upon.

«Yes...» Ryou answered. Serenity was standing with them in the balcony this time, and she could see their contrasting coloured figures from up close. She watched the mixed emotions in Bakura's eyes, the confusion and rage along with the calmness and acceptance brought by the mere illusion of revenge. «The chip receptor was probably somewhere in the middle. See? Right here.»

Ryou motioned at the torn part of the Ring, where the microchip had been «I never saw it with my own eyes...I'd always thought you were a spirit, myself...» Ryou thoughtfully said, as though somewhat wistful.

«Well, even I who saw it didn't think it's anything special...»Serenity concluded, with her most scientific voice. She smiled at Ryou, who was rubbing small circles on her back «It's looked like a regular microchip, which was placed on the bottom of your cryocapsule. Then, apparently, the 'brainwaves' or, your 'consciousness' was transferred from the microchip to your body-«

«Yes. I've seen it. Thanks. » Bakura said with a somewhat sour look, glaring at her with no small amount of distaste. He hadn't forgotten the way she'd almost humiliated him last time. Or the many other times before that...In general, he disliked conversing with smart women...Not that this one was smart, of course, but...anyway. In any case she was Ryou's...girlfriend, or...whatever they called them these days. Humph!

«In _any_ case...I just thought that you'd like to have it...» Ryou concluded, treating the Millennium Ring as though it was made of glass, touching it dainty and with care.

Bakura, in contrast, just grabbed the thing crudely and shook it, seemingly not caring for Ryou's flinching expression and Serena's mild amusement.

«And what should I do with it, Ryou? Eat it?» Bakura sighed, shaking his head as though patronising a little kid. In the meantime, Ryou was pondering how strange it felt when Bakura called him by his name and not by his usual 'Brightside' nickname. «How many times have I told you you don't keep stuff unless you intend to make money out of them or hurt someone with them?»

And he shoved the golden Ring back to the pliant Ryou's hands «Dump this.» he said disinterestedly. But then he noticed the kind look of care that Ryou was giving the retched object, and he rolled his red eyes in smugness.

«I guess I must have been a good partner, then. Humph! I probably beat the crap out of people you didn't like...since you're a wuss and all...»

Ryou and Serenity looked at each other, whilst Bakura was basking in his self-loving tirade. «Oh if only you knew...» they both said at the same time, making Bakura glare quite viciously at them.

-

«Is he okay?»

«Yeah yeah...not to worry, Yug» Joey answered with his customary laidback attitude. He leaned back in the sofa and crossed his legs over the table. «All I had to do's is take him to the closest hardware store. He was whining the whole time, mind you, saying he doesn't want stray dogs to follow him and some shit like that»

Mai briefly walked by them, trying to rearrange her nice living room in the way it was before a hurricane called Bakura had fallen on it. Rascal's antiques weren't helping.

«And honestly, Yug...I mean, I haven't seen a dog around here for ages...ya know? I was like 'what the hell do ya mean, man?' and then he was tellin me about stupid dogs who shouldn't talk and something like that. Ya know?»

Yugi was nodding, making a very pronounced effort not to smile or even guffaw.

«And it turns out he was talking about me! The nasty son of a bitch! I take him to a nice garage to fix his metals, and what do I get? Some cheesy jokes about mutts! Now that's just ungrateful!»

«Hehe!» Yugi chuckled, leaning forward and playing with one of the many chains hanging from his neck «You're so funny, Joey! I'd love to play some Game with you sometime!»

Needless to say that Joey's focus suddenly narrowed down on the conversation «Games? You like to play Games, Yug?»

Yugi smiled cheerfully, making the chains and collars around his neck jingle «Sure! Haven't I told you I came first in the Yango Cyber Game tournament! I beat that slimy Pegasus!»

Joey's eyes were positively sparkling, as though an old flame, which had been extinguished before, was now being quickly rekindled. «I love Games myself! I wanted to make Games, when I was young, and I'd drawn up these whole plans for a Game called Duel Monsters...but my game has all these cool monsters and no plot...I thought I'd never make it work...»

«Really?» well, it seems Joey had found his soul mate when it came to games, since Yugi's stamina on talking about Games far surpassed Marik's, or any other living person's for that matter «Well tell me all about it! Tell me! Maybe I can help. Do you have any drawings! Show me!»

Joey grinned, his eyes becoming lively and excited, as he finally lapsed into the subject in which he was most adept. «Al'right. Ok, first there's this legend, about some dark monsters being sent by the gods to control the world...»

Mai just smiled as she continued her cleaning routine.

-

It was never silent in the Catacombs. There were always sounds of machines and cargo being moved, sounds whose origins were indeterminable. They were probably echoes of the heavy transport that went on in the factories. These last two weeks, Joey had resumed his work, so everyone had the chance to see what a Catacomb really did to a person. Every day he'd return, Joey would lock himself up in the bathroom and wash furiously, scrubbing the grime off before it became a permanent part of his subcutaneous tissue.

But tonight, strangely enough, it was very quiet. For some reason, the crashing sounds of heavy metals coming in contact with each other was not as pronounced as usual. Then again, Nehti thought, that could be because he'd been moved from Joey's room to the storage room downstairs. Apparently, the happy 'couples', namely Ryou and Serenity and Joey and Mai, were the only ones entitled to a double bed in this place. Bakura was not a patient any more and neither was Marik, since Nehti had heard he'd been kicked out of his bedroom as well. Not that he was paying attention to what the others were saying, mind you...Therefore, since they weren't patients, they didn't need double beds!

Now Nehti found himself lying on the rough mattress of the small, dank room where Mai apparently kept her cleaning apparatus and Joey his old toys. It smelled old and damp. But Nehti had slept worse.

He quickly diverted his mind from the direction it was going. Everything was all right now...it was all right... Nehti wrapped himself in a foetal position, wrapping his hands around his own shoulders in an struggle for self-comfort, pretending that someone else, perhaps his mother or his aunt, were holding him.

«It's ok...it's ok...he's dead...he's dead now...» he kept whispering, rubbing the cold skin of his arms again and again, until he felt warmer. His ability to draw the warmth from the atmosphere was useless when he was in such a small space. He intentionally kept the door open, still reluctant to be alone- and possibly confined- in any sort of closed space. This is why he always preferred Joe's balcony. There he felt free, looking over the planes of black land...at least he felt he could breathe...he felt he could escape. «You killed him...» he tried to comfort himself, ironically, by remembering that glorious moment, that truly glorious moment, when he saw all life be extinguished from the cold blue eyes, and Kaiba fell to his knees before him, coldness of death overtaking him...

Glorious.

Albeit, Bakura wasn't stupid. He knew Kaiba was a robot. Ryou had told him as much before. And Bakura planned to make Ma- _that guy_ pay for trying to fool him. However, the fact that Kaiba wasn't really dead wasn't as frustrating as it should have been. The only thing Nehti had needed, really, was to see him fall on his knees, to taste his cold blood. To 'kill' him. He felt comforted by the act of doing it, not as much with the result. Besides, the entire Kaiba generation had been wiped out now. It was just unfair for all of them to die and remain as droids, without giving Nehti the pleasure of taking their life from them.

Now, with what he had done, he finally felt at peace. The fact that Kaiba was a droid and that Nehti could repeat this rejuvenating experience whenever he wanted was also something to look forward to.

Turning around, to where the small creaking door of the storage room was open, Nehti could see a faded, ethereal golden light coming from the distance. Nehti knew it was the mushroom-shaped light that Mai always kept open outside the children's' room. But in Eruna, Bakura had been taught an important lesson: it's better in the still darkness, where at least you're alone, than when lights appear. Lights mean they're coming for you...lights mean...

Without really registering or controlling his actions, Nehti had stood up and took a few paces, intent on shutting the door after all. There was a small window on the upper left wall of the storage room, so he wouldn't feel entirely shut off...And besides, there was no way he'd be able to sleep with that light on, even if it was in his peripheral vision...

He had just grabbed the metallic edge of the door and was about to shut it, when he heard something, like a strange noise coming from the direction of the front door. With all his senses alert and the hair on his naked torso and legs standing on end, he took a minute step to the side, concealing himself in case an intruder entered the house. He waited for a few moments, the sounds becoming more pronounced every second. He didn't know much about these new-generation contraptions, so he wouldn't be able to stop them from entering the house...but what he could do was give them a night to remember if they managed to get in. Like a panther poised for strike, he waited, still hidden in the shadows.

With a loud clatter, a grunt and an obscure curse word, the front door opened. Bakura's senses were tingling with adrenaline. Damn stupid Ryou! He was probably doing unmentionable things with that woman right now, leaving Nehti to deal with everything again! He was sure they-

«Watch your step, Rishido...there's a toy here...» the voice speaking became a familiar tone, and Nehti let out the breath he'd unconsciously been holding. It was _that guy _again. God, would he ever leave Bakura alone and at peace? It didn't seem so...wait a minute. What was he doing lurking around in the middle of the night, anyway? Could it be...he had gone to...to _that_ kind of place...Well, it was only to be expected...he did look like the type, after all. Well...he was blond, right..?

Vaguely, Nehti recognized there was a gaping hole in his line of reasoning, especially if it were associated with the onslaught of jealousy we was suddenly experiencing. Of course Ma- _that guy_, even if he was technically younger than Nehti, would be much more experienced in those kinds of things...Let's not forget what happene- no, let's not even go there. Nehti had only had the chance to date one girl before they locked him up in Eruna...and he remembered that, even though he'd been planning to...well...he never got the chance. As Nehti made an effort to keep his thoughts in check concerning Marik and any sort of relationship, Rishid facilitated this effort by continuing the conversation.

«Master...did you arrange the details, though...you know how risky it can be if we're not careful...» Rishid's baritone was saying in a contemplative tone, leaving room for much controversy about the nature of his sentiments on the matter.

«I know, I know...don't worry...and don't call me 'Master'» Marik said as an afterthought, as though annoyed. Nehti was annoyed with himself too, just by realizing he was noticing _that idiot's_ reactions. It was established that such a bastard didn't deserve attention...or anything else.

Marik had had a relationship with Nehti's probably paranoid microchip self…that was all. Therefore...it wasn't exactly like Marik cared for him, was it? Marik cared for...his microchip self... But he and his other 'self' were the same person, right? It sounded ludicrous to his own ears but he accepted it nonetheless, just as he did with everything else lately.

«All the arrangements have been made, then?» the bald, tanned man asked, and Bakura vaguely wondered where he had acquired that elaborate mark which was etched on his face. It didn't seem like a tattoo, exactly, since it had ridges...but it's blue colour made it confusing for the viewer to understand if it was a scar.

«Yes. He says we'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. Naturally, we won't need cards if the CEO of KaibaCorp will be with us...God it makes my guts turn! » Marik was saying sarcastically, oblivious of Bakura's overhearing. Nehti had come to terms with the fact that Kaiba had not died, but it still irritated him to hear it, especially from this good-for-nothing scumbag who had tried to deceive him in the first place. No matter, Bakura was planning to act like an idiot for now. This way, when he 'discovered' that they'd lied to him and that Kaiba was still alive, he'd have a perfect excuse to 'break down' and 'kill Kaiba' all over again! It all worked perfectly in his mind. Killing Kaiba many times and in many inventive ways proved more interesting than just getting his revenge over with...He'd just deal with Kaiba's annoying existence...for now.

«Good...So then I should inform everyone...Joey's family and friends are coming too, I assume? » Rishid asked, sounding to Bakura like a remarkably misplaced, disoriented butler.

«Yeah...you do that...but leave Bakura...I'll talk to him myself...» Marik answered with a reflective tone. Nehti didn't even need to open his mouth –not that he would've, mind you- in order to make Marik regret what he'd just said. As luck would have it it was at that exact moment that Marik chose to turn around, coming face to face with the open door of the storage room and Bakura's glare.

Marik just stayed put for a few moments, apparently disarmed by Nehti's unusual state of undress. He also seemed a bit lost, as though wondering what the heck he'd done now and why he was being glared at. It seemed to hit him like a brick that just a few moments ago he'd been ranting about how best to approach Nehti with the news.

«Yes» Nehti started, drawling tone and cold sneer a bit out-of-place, considering he wasn't wearing his usual black attire. «We wouldn't want your poor butler to come face-to-face with the beast, now, would we?» he distastefully said, making Marik and Rishid exchange looks of alert

«He's not my butler!» Marik said, almost in a mechanical manner.

«Why are you looking at each other?» Bakura barked immediately, now even more cross «had I wanted you to die I would have bitten your heads off some time ago.»

As they say, extreme honesty can be both a blessing and a curse. Rishid seemed slightly alert and Marik appeared unimpressed, as though used to the ill-treatment.

«In any case» Marik answered with his own drawl, daring to even look in Bakura's ruby eyes «Now you know. We're leaving the day after tomorrow. A friend will help us exit the Catacombs, since he has all the cards and stuff...and then we'll leave Earth. So yeah...that's it.»

«A friend?» Bakura mimicked sarcastically «It wouldn't be our dear 'CEO of KaibaCorp' by any chance, would it...?»

Marik, obviously realizing his former blunder, didn't even bat an eyelash at the assault. The level of Bakura's esteem for him unconsciously increased by this «Of course he is. The CEO of KaibaCorp is an old friend of ours, From Saturn. You wouldn't know him...» Marik concluded smoothly, making Bakura smirk.

«Oh...that wouldn't be Kaiba, now, would he...?» he asked, red eyes piercing in Marik's scull, willing to break his brain open.

«No. It wouldn't.» Marik lied again, flawlessly, If there was one thing he was proud of, it was his deception ability. If he wanted it, he could lie a person to oblivion. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't yet realized that Bakura was deceiving him much more than he was deceiving Bakura. Nehti enjoyed lulling Marik in a false sense of security...then, at the opportune moment, he'd strike and wipe that carefree smirk off Marik's pretty face!

«But most importantly» Marik, despite Rishid's warning looks, was bent on making his own counterattack, putting Bakura in his place «Shouldn't you be worried about how you're going to cope in the spaceship? You've never travelled with warp speed before, have you?» Marik asked in a knowledgeable which he knew usually worked, enjoying the faint but not-quite-hidden look of alert that fleeted over Bakura's face.

«And what are you going to do when we get to Saturn, huh?» Marik mocked in a babyish voice, ignoring Rishid's tugging on his shoulder «All alone in an unknown planet...whose gonna take you in?»

Nehti saw red, and it wasn't just the little light outside Mai's kids' room. In fact, he saw red to such an extent, that he didn't even think before blurting out the first most venomous thing he could fathom «Well at least I won't be taken in by some pretty dame, who will lead me to an underground lab full of psychotic mad scientists! I'm sure Ryou will volunteer instead.»

And he slammed the door quite noisily, right in a dumbfounded Marik's face.

Rishid shook his head and sighed. He didn't understand the details, but, as always, he'd known this verbal match would have a less-than-pleasurable ending, for Marik. At least now, finally, even through this unpleasant way, Marik had been pacified, and let Rishid drag him along, to the calm oblivion of sleep.

-

It was still quiet. There was this kind of twilight darkness, a mixture of blue, white and black...all around him. He was lying, like he always lies, in a comfortable curled up position. Only, for some reason, it was very hot, and the thin blanket felt scratchy against his sensitive skin. Something...something warm...was...

«Mhmm...» he muttered in his sleep, and turned around to lie supine. But that thing wouldn't leave him alone, like a soft, warm balm, it was sliding torturously slow over his calm and then over his thigh. He trembled, half asleep and half-awake...not really coherent...

It was so soft...like warm plastic, if such a thing existed. Like a snake coiling around his right leg, and then his left leg. He stretched languorously, revelling in the warm, pleasant touch...it was perfect...it was...and then he felt it crawling beneath...under his thin boxers, pulling them downwards. He stretched even more, exhibiting as much bare skin as he could. He wanted it. He wanted it to touch him.

And then, before he really knew what was happening, this heavenly, unreal...warmth...enveloped him, and he was being touched, everywhere by this warm, wet entity. He realized that he was thinking about juicy strawberries and red apples...of lips that he could bite and ravish...

«Wha-!» he woke with a jerk, sweating profoundly...only when he looked downwards, the covers were drawn at the side and, in between his thighs nested a batch of golden-platinum hair. In the vague shadows of the night, he could see the dark palms around his leg and under his navel- they appeared black against his extremely pale skin.

«Uh- What are you-« he started saying, but immediately the blond head turned upwards, revealing for all the world to see the infamous, mischievous lavender eyes, full of lust, and the trickster smile that could kill with allure.

«Mari- - « But he couldn't say much, since he saw and simultaneously felt that warm, wetness envelop him once more. And now that he could see it, actually see the blonde head buried and eating hungrily between his thighs, like a starved man...now that he could see the dark hands squeezing his thighs open...It was too much, he was moaning, he was turning into mush within seconds..

«Why...?» he was asking, over and over «Why?...I thought...I thought...you hated me...» he was saying, not really hearing his own voice, which was hoarse and scratchy in normal circumstances, but even more so right now, in the throes of passion.

«I thought you hated me...» Marik's deep, sultry voice answered back, and Bakura could feel the sighs and conclusions of vocal chords reverberate through the whole of his body. «But I couldn't stop myself, anymore...»And Bakura desperately clung to it. Without a second thought about his pride, or what had happened the last time the last time he'd let Marik had ravage him like this. He buried his hands in the golden tresses and pulled, he let his back from an arch and lift off the cheap mattress, he threw his head back, not bothering to mute the moan, and convulsively let Marik spread his legs wider, swallow him whole.

And he wasn't even thinking, he wasn't breathing, the pleasure was so perfect. The only things shooting through his mind was 'I can't believe I didn't know such a feeling exists' and 'I can't believe he's forgiven me'. He suddenly became hyper-sensitive and could feel each and every one of Marik's hair tickling his skin. Marik stretched his hand enough to tease a nipple, rub it until it became puckered, and until Bakura's eyes had fogged from the inside out, and he couldn't see straight unless they he kept them half-open. He opened his mouth wider, let his moans loose, let his tongue shoot out and taste the air and savour the smell of life and pleasure. It was so constant, it was as though he was tortured all over again, but in a pleasurable way...and he was- he was

Marik had sat up and was looking at him, those narrow, gleaming eyes sparking with dark pleasure, that slow smile intensifying in lust as he pushed forward and-

«Does it hurt...uh...does it feel good...?»

«a-ah...no...Ma-ar...»

«I want to make you feel-«

«UGH!»

This time, when he woke up, he was all alone. Covered in sweat, panting, and entirely alone. There was neither warmth nor another body against him- only the coldness of the small storage room. He was shaking, and the whole of his lower body was aching. He knew what he would see if he looked down, so he didn't. He just gritted his teeth, again and again. He let his short, cuffed nails dig in his palms and wished for an epileptic crisis to hit him. But it didn't. It was just the cold air, the mattress –which was damp with sweat by now- his own shallow breathing and his aching need.

He closed his eyes, thinking of hate. Trying to think of Kaiba as he fell to his knees, trying to think of Gozaburo and every scientist of Kuru Eruna he could recall.

But still, nothing he could do could alleviate the fact that, ever since that night, and every night thereafter, he'd had that same disgusting, _disgusting_ dream.

-

«Well someone slept on the wrong side of the bed today...again.» Mai commented lightly, not bothering to care about Bakura's glare as she set a plate of jam-covered croissants in front of him. Naturally, he didn't thank her. Why the hell would he? What was her purpose in life, but to anger him?

«Mind your own business, woman.» he nastily bit back at her. But unfortunately, it seems that he had lost all forms of prestige with these minions, since she not only didn't cower before him, but seemed very entertained by his feeble attempts to command her.

«Whatever, your Royal Buttness.» she rolled her eyes at him and airily flipped her hair over her shoulder «Just don't let that chip on your shoulder get in your head as well.»

Bakura, not for the first time that day, was just plainly enraged «Why, is there any other chip in my head, is that it!?»

«Yeah!» Mai countered with a smirk, and seeing as he was smugly sticking her chest at her with his arms crossed, she mimicked his position flawlessly «That's exactly what I want to-«

«Good morning everyone! » a happy, well-rested Ryou entered the kitchen, clearly rolling his eyes when he noticed the position.

«Good morning Ryou...» Bakura immediately said, tone exactly the opposite from the one he'd been using with Mai only seconds ago «Humph! Don't let this get over your head, yankee. We'll finish this some other time!» he let the comment with a scathing voice, then turned his back at her and walked to the table.

«Good morning Ryou...» Mai had said simultaneously with Bakura. Then, upon hearing the man's wayward comment, she simply smirked and walked away, shouting at him as she exited the kitchen «Be careful of what you say, or you won't have anything to eat in this house!!» she said with spunk and cheer.

«Yeah, THAT'D BE A GOOD THING!...Oh...» he'd started shouting back at her, but at the moment she was exiting the kitchen, Marik had been entering. Therefore, he was the one who ended bearing the brunt of the shout. Bakura was surprised, the 'events' of last night coming to mind immediately. And involuntarily, unprepared as he was to meet Marik head on so early in the morning, a bright shade of crimson graced his high cheekbones.

«...'Morning...» Marik just said, ignoring what he'd just heard and aiming his words mainly towards Ryou's side of the table. «G'morning» Ryou and Serenity said at the same time, Serenity a bit more tiredly than Ryou. Judging from the twin sated smiles on their faces, Marik supposed they'd been getting reacquainted with each other last night. He compulsively treaded on the spark of envy that appeared in his heart, used to suppressing it by now. Judging from last night's little row, he was the last person Bakura was considering as a possible lover right now...Guess there was just no helping it. The moment he'd finally found him, Marik had lost him all over again. It just wasn't fair.

But life isn't fair, Marik pondered bitterly as he took a seat right next to Rishid, opposite from Ryou, all the time noticing that Bakura lacked even the basic courtesy of wishing him a good day. But his musings would not remain calm for long, since a sudden crushing noise echoed around them, and, like a 4-feet tall tornado, Rascal had broken into the kitchen and pounced on Marik seat from the back.

«ALL RIGHT!» the kid was shouting, now completely berserk «We're leaving this place!? This is so cool! Can I bring my stuff too, like, Omega and Sidney and Megatron and stuff?! This is gonna be sooooooo cooool!!! Come on Menace! Comeoncomeoncomeon!!! Tell me is it true!?»

«Well I would, if you'd stop CHOKING me!!» Marik was yelping, as Rascal was literally squeezing the daylights out of him, purposely keeping him at a headlock.

«Who the heck is 'Omega'?» a voice was heard from the far left, and Yugi just smirked, biting calmly into his toast and savouring the taste. Then, when what he'd heard finally sunk in, he almost choked on his last bite: «What» he half-chocked, half-spat «We're leaving??!»

«Y-yeah..-« Marik was trying to speak whilst dislodging the kid from his hip. Apparently, Rascal had taken to hitting him more than pouncing on him lately, so now he was making it a habit to use Marik's hip as a punch bag. And, damnit, why did it always have to be the same hip! It was getting small-punch-shaped bruises! As if Bakura wasn't enough!

«Well, go on!» Ryou egged on, now interested in the conversation «When are we going? »

«I thought you'd be more reluctant to leave Earth!» Marik observed, now indulging Rascal and play-brawling with him. Marik was holding the kid's head away from his body, whilst Rascal, with his much shorter hands, was flailing his fists in all directions, hoping to hit the man.

«Well, Earth isn't exactly as we remember it...right Bakura?» Ryou nodded towards his cousin, not really expecting an answer, since he knew he wouldn't get one. It was assumed, in these circumstances, that Bakura just...agreed with everything Ryou said. «It would be nice to leave again...»

«Hey, forget about them, Menace!! Just tell me! Is it true?! Is it true? Mom and Dad are going to Yango? And Dad's gonna work on CyberGames with Yugi...is it?! »

«Yes. Yes, ok? It's true! NOW can you stop choking me?!» Marik complained, and had one known where to look, they would have seen his eyes slipping towards Nehti's disinterested hunched form, now and then. Had Nehti...no, Bakura...had he...blushed, before? Nah...that was probably just the lighting...that was...

«Really, Joe? CyberGames? » Serenity asked, eyes sparkling as Ryou kissed the back of her hand. From the side, Marik didn't miss the roll of Bakura's eyes. Sometimes, the similarity was just plain disconcerting. The only difference was that Bakura wasn't invisible now, so he couldn't comment whenever he wished.

«Well, our friend the CEO of KaibaCorp arranged that as well. Joey and Mai, as well as the others, will have an operation for HyperArms as soon as possible...After that, there are many roads to take...» Marik rushed to say, before Joey spilled any information about Kaiba in front of Bakura. Bakura still thought that Kaiba was dead, after all- they couldn't let Joey spoil their deception! Not that Joey didn't know about it, mind you...He was just very prone to forget about being careful of what he says.

«One thing is for sure, though» Ryou started, looking at everyone around «Wherever we go, we won't forget about this place, the Catacombs, or everyone we've met here» he looked at Marik, and they both nodded, in utter seriousness «We won't stop this fight until we reveal to everyone the plans of the Big 5 and Gozaburo, and until we start changing the Catacombs...once and for all! »

«For sure!» Serenity said, and shared a high five with her beloved. «For sure», Marik repeated, and let Ryou hit his hand as well. «It's gonna be hard, I can tell you that...but we can't give up now. The worse is behind us...the worse has been going on for six centuries...now is the time to change it!»

«Even though the world won't change overnight, there are still many things we can do...if we see we can't get through to politicians and chancellors...then we'll aim for the people of the Catacombs! Surely things will change if all of them call for revolution!» Yugi let his right hand punch his left in a decisive gesture.

A small silence followed, during which everyone present reflected quietly. Mai, Tea, Rishid, Kaiba, Rascal's sister and Joey's friends weren't here, but they surely would agree to what was said. Especially Kaiba..

«Not to interrupt your moment of divine enlightenment» everyone made a visible effort not to cringe at Bakura's disagreeable voice, everyone except Marik, who had his eyes trained on Bakura the whole time, and was expecting him to spill venom soon «but it seems to me I have no place in this great vision...Are we going to be together from now on...Ryou?»

Ryou seemed surprised as he turned to look at his cousin, his warm brown eyes not speaking of anything except honest perplex ion «Oh...eh...» The small pause was enough to make Bakura's red eyes lower and his chest to heave in an imperceptible sigh.

«That's fine, then. It's not as if I was counting on it.» he said, and was careful not to make the glasses topple over when he abruptly stood up. Ryou lost no time in grabbing his palm and tugging him down again, eager to explain.

«No, that's not it!» he motioned with his hands towards Serenity « I really don't have a place either, so Serenity offered...But...but I thought you'd be staying with...that's why I didn't say anything..» the unsaid name again loomed over them, and Marik's silent posture again came to the forefront. It became clear to Bakura, suddenly, that Marik's amethyst eyes were lowered, his grip on Rascal's shoulder had become quite lax. He wouldn't raise his eyes and just kept staring at a far left corner, apparently finding the floor very interesting. Nehti suddenly became hyperaware of all the eyes around him, Ryou's hand on his shoulder, Rascal's scowling face...oh how he hated people! Really, how he hated them!

«No, Ryou. I was thinking...you...Yes...you.» Nehti just said, simultaneously hating his own voice and Marik's golden hair, which distracted him with their shine. The moment he spoke, he saw Marik turn toward him at last, his usually lavender eyes now having taken a bluish, bruised hue. He didn't speak at all...but his calm, resigned and intrinsic eyes spoke for themselves.

«Well...»Ryou stammered, obviously at a loss. The table had grown overly quiet again, and Bakura felt as though thousands of small prickling fingers were prodding at him, making him aware of all their stares – _all their stupid stares- what are they looking at? I don't want him! _«Well in that case...I hope Serenity would...» and he turned towards the auburn haired girl, obviously at a loss. Her eyes widened at him first, and then she directed them to Bakura, sounding as sincere as she could.

«Oh- sure! Sure! No problem, Ryou. Don't even think about it! Bakura's like family to me.»

_Lies!_ He thought, unable to help it, really «Don't misunderstand, woman. I don't need your pity.» And his blank, if not accusing, stare only served to verify his words. The girl gulped and nodded, her experience telling her it was futile to try and change his mind, when it was set. He'd just have to learn to like her the hard way, just as he had before. In any case, she felt at ease with herself, since she had been sincere.

«No way! Nuh-huh. You can forget about that right now!» Joey's voice rang, in protective-brother mode «I can accept Ryou...since he's her boyfriend and all...and don't think it was easy to accept that! But don't think there's any way I'll let my sister stay in a house with two guys! Ok? That's just a no! And there's no way-«

«Oh Joey, stop it! Honestly! I'm a big girl now! I promise I won't let anyone near my closet, if that makes you feel any-«

«I don't agree with that kind of-«

«Ahahahaha...» Ryou's good natured laughter rang on deaf ears, since it was too late to stop the inevitable, upcoming banter.

However, on the sidelines, whilst the others were enjoying the familiarity of each other's presence, Bakura and Marik just stared at each other, silent, unmoving. This was the end, then. Soon, Bakura would go live with Ryou and Serenity. They'd finally part ways. The dreams would stop, the nervousness would stop...the stupid heartbeat and increased blood pressure would stop.

And overall, he'd be free of the thing he'd always hated most. People who cared about what he was doing.

Marik watched, his eyes cold, but not dead. Just...cold...like the eyes of a lover who's finally accepting that he's experiencing unrequited love. Like a flower that blooms every morning in order to wilt each night.

From now on, this is what his life would be like. It seemed prudent, to him, suddenly, not to think any more. Instead he just picked up Rascal and enjoyed the wild oblivion of a child's world, where nothing matters apart from the next hour, the next meal, the next day. Not an entire lifetime. Not a lifetime, spent without the one you love.

From then on, the table was much more silent and all eyes, albeit discreetly, were returning to Marik and Bakura, again and again and again.

-

_«M..Mariku...U-uhm...»_

What the hell-?

-

«Ah! » he let out the unrestrained yelp that always signalled his disgruntled awakening. The sheets were damp and cold again, and the blanket felt scratchy against the sensitive pores of his pale skin. Panting and feeling the ache grow already, he sat up, vision still foggy. He could see the dull shape of the small storage room window on the upper left, from where most of the blue light was shed in the room. But he couldn't see much else. He closed his eyes and pulled his legs up, biting his lips in order not to gasp at the inevitable friction that was created between his body and the sheets. His need was growing by the minute, and the more he tried to ignore it, the worse it would become.

Compulsively, he wrapped his arms around his shaking legs. He knew he'd have to do something about it, Sooner or later he'd have to...but doing something would be equal to accepting it. And Bakura was a master of denial, trying to delay the acceptance of the problem. Procrastinating endlessly and dragging out even the smallest detail. He didn't want to admit it to himself, even...that he might...that he might...lo-...lo-o-..._that idiot..._

Suddenly, as though being washed by a freezing bucket of water, his heart started pounding, and he realized the air was heavier...warmer...than usual, in the room. All traces of sleep swiftly leaving him, he uncoiled himself from the guarded position and sat up straighter, head sweeping around and freezing, noticing two things at once: the open door. And Bakura _never_ left the door open- that small light made his skin crawl even now...But as he sat there, contemplating and fighting to suppress his arousal for the sake of clearing his mind...a strange shape caught his eye, and immediately he whipped around, heart hammering in his chest, as his worst nightmare literally came true, when Marik's ethereal halo of flaxen hair appeared in the light of the small window. Marik's face was cast in shadows and only the vague shape of his body and the nakedness of his torso and arms were revealed. Nehti, in his state of panic and confusion, managed to register this. Had he been hiding in the shadows, concealed perfectly..._all this time?!? How much did he see? How much did he...hear?!_

«What...are you doing here?» Bakura chocked out, hoping against all odds that this was another dream...and Marik would swiftly dematerialize in order to transform into a Kuru Eruna scientist...anything..._anything_...except for this humiliation!

«I heard someone call my name.» the voice answered within milliseconds, as deep and sensual as it always was in his dreams. Surely this was another impossible scenario. Surely this was a dream as well. But in his dreams, Marik was always touching him...he had never sounded indignant or...even...angry.

«It wasn't me» Bakura denied automatically, uncomfortably aware of the ache that was still pounding, demanding some attention. He tried to suppress it, he really did, but the dream which had wreaked havoc on his senses, coupled with the visual stimulus of the contours of Marik's rather rippled body, was not helping much.

«Yes it was» Marik countered, not losing a beat. He sounded tired. He sounded fed up. But he had no right to be! He had no right, after what he did to Bakura the..the last...time. The humiliation! _The humiliation!_

«Then I must have been dreaming you were hurting me.» Bakura concluded, hoping against all odds manage to convince Marik that the moans he'd heard were of pain, not pleasure. But Marik took a step forward, closer to the pale man, thus bringing his lavender eyes close enough to become discernible. And Bakura could see clearly what Marik was looking at.

«Yeah, it must have hurt a whole lot.» Marik said in a purposely bland tone. Belatedly realizing his weakness, Bakura tried to cover it up, but to no avail. The more he struggled to hide it, wriggling in the restrictive covers, the more obvious it became. Until, finally, he gave up.

«Yes, it did.» Bakura hissed and glared at Marik's general direction, unable to face the other's eyes quite yet. He wasn't lying when he said it had hurt. It had hurt a lot. He hated it. He hated these dreams and everything connected to them! But...but still...

«Is there something you want to tell me?» Marik asked, in that expectant tone that parents use with their little children. Bakura barked «No!» in annoyance, before his mind was straight enough to think. What was Marik expecting? A love confession? He had another thing coming! Not since the time he left Nehti, alone and crumpling in need. Even though Marik had heard him calling his name in the middle of an erotic dream, even though Marik was seeing his arousal with his own eyes, Bakura would still deny! He would deny until death, and he would make Marik pay! He would make him pay!

«No! I have nothing to tell you!» Bakura sprang up, standing tall to face Marik, enjoying the obvious irritation in Marik's features, and the muscle that was pumping frantically in the other's jaw. Marik was tightening his fist convulsively, letting Bakura see the rippling muscle on his arm relax and tighten. The pale youth gritted his teeth and smirked provocatively «What's the matter, Mariku? Want to punch me...or maybe kiss me?» he dared to tease.

«You'd like that, wouldn't you?» the other bit out, and without a word, shoved Bakura away and took a couple of decisive strides toward the door.

«Don't ever talk to me unless you have something to say!» the blond whispered venomously, grabbing the door with the intent of slamming it. But Bakura was there before Marik had the chance, keeping the door jammed open without much effort. He could hear Marik gritting his teeth and could hear his own heart pounding frantically in his ears. He could sense...he could smell...the desire. He felt blinded, completely subject to the whims of his heart.

He just grabbed Marik's forearm and attempted to stare the man down, glaring at him with all the artificial malice he could muster. And, to his credit, Marik did the same, staring with unwavering distaste at his opponent, glaring and nearly baring his teeth to show how much he hated, how much he hated...this feeling.

«I don't love you.» Bakura spelled out, vicious and desperate, as he clawed on Marik's mocha skin. «Is that what you want to hear? I don't. I don't love you.»

He lost his balance, since the door he was supporting himself on was roughly moved out of the way. Bakura vaguely had the time to register the clatter of the door against the other wall, before he literally felt his entire world going upside down, as Marik's solid force grabbed him by the waist, slammed him against the wall and started kissing him. He felt confused at first, and then a sense of bliss overcame him, not so much because of the quality of the kiss than from the fact that Marik was kissing him. _Marik was kissing him_. And he could think only that.

He lost all account of his own actions, now convinced once more that this was a dream and he would soon wake up, sweaty and lonely. But now, just for this moment, he rejoiced in pain and pleasure as Marik buried his pelvis against his own. And suddenly, he found himself even incapable of moaning, or making any sort of sound. He could feel the tanned hands, like tentacles, slip roughly over his thighs, like a conqueror ravages new lands. He raised his face when he was able and met those eyes, those eyes of power, burning with bluish- amethyst flame. This time Marik's eyes weren't like those of an unaffected possessor, as they were in his dreams. Now Marik seemed affected as well, driven, like Bakura, from a lust-crazed passion. His eyes this time were hazy and sharp at the same time. He mouth was open and panting. Bakura couldn't remember the image of his dreams, it was wiped out by the unexpected reality, where Marik was also human and could also be affected by these emotions...at least as much as Bakura.

«I'm not gonna stop, this time...» Marik grunted, voice even deeper and even more husky that the usual as he let his hand caress Bakura's navel and then delve into the pliant pelvis. Bakura started shaking, arms wrapping almost involuntarily around Marik's neck and pulling Marik's head closer, to kiss the pebbled nipple and the gasping throat.

Bakura muttered something in response, but Marik was too far gone to understand that it was in Japanese, and he wouldn't have understood anyway. The moans were purposely silenced, but the sounds of fabric and skin rubbing together more than made up for that.

The cold light in the room was not lonely or unwelcome that night, and the door was still shut, but for different reasons. In fact, when their naked bodies staggered blindly to the bed, Bakura wouldn't have seen the small light even if it had been set right in front of him.

-

It was night. Long past midnight. At a time like this, few would roam the streets of tithe Earth Catacomb, so they wouldn't be identified. However, they all wore black hooded cloaks –even the children- for good measure. As they all walked out of Joey's house, the man turned to look at it for the last time, golden tresses shining underneath the ragged fabric of his black hood.

«What's wrong, Joey...?» Serenity paused to ask, noticing his reluctant step and wistful eyes.

«Nothing...» he finished, and stared towards Mai, who was standing there, understanding smile in place, winking at him «Are you going to miss it?» Serenity asked, looking at Joey's face, and becoming startled when Joey pulled her into a tight hug, careful not to hurt her with his HyperArms.

«No...I won't. Not when you guys are with me.» he finished, and let Serenity see the moistness in his eyes.

«Brother! We'll never be apart again! » she cried in one breath, and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him smile against her forehead. «We'll be together, wherever we go. We'll be here. » he said, as he pointed at Serenity's heart. She smiled at him «Pinky promise?» she asked. And he simply nodded, knowing he couldn't really give her his hand, but promising none the less.

From the side, two pairs of eyes were watching, one amethyst and one blood red. Whilst Marik appeared hopeful and glad, his expression revealing his compassion to their plight, Bakura looked positively bored, if the rolling of the eyes and the huffing was any indication.

«Typical.» he groaned, disinterested. «I mean here we are, waiting for 'our friend the CEO of KaibaCorp' to lead us to our new lives, we're dressed in all our getaway gear, and they're still stuck in family mushiness. I feel like I'm in some cheesy soap opera. Barbara Streisand will start singing any minute. » Bakura crossed his arms over his chest. Marik raised an eyebrow from the side «Barbara what? » he asked, completely taken aback. He was into everything...how come he hadn't heard of that name before...

Ryou, however, seemed perfectly in tune with this «Yes, quite so.» he answered, albeit with a small smile which belied the lack of malignance in his words «I believe the lipstick ads will start any minute now..»

«The what?» Marik asked again, as he saw Bakura and Ryou nodding at each other, as though speaking in some ancient language- which they actually were. Fireworks? Barbara? Only then did Marik realize that he would now have to deal not with one, but with two completely ignorant people from another world. Well shit. Now he must explain everything about the galaxy all over again. Or maybe he'll have Ryou explain to Nehti. To test how well he'd learned and so forth.

«And speaking of our friend, the 'CEO of KaibaCorp'...»Bakura's drawl sounded, just as they'd all started walking again and Joey and his family had paid their last respects to their house. At the mere mentioning of the 'CEO' the hair on Marik's neck stood on end. Bakura didn't know...did he...about Kaiba still being alive...right?

«Yes?...What about him?» Marik gingerly asked, slowly looking at Bakura's seemingly 'disinterested ' red eyes.

«Oh nothing...I was just thinking he must really like to play dress-up...» and he pointed at the figure at the far front. It was Kaiba Seto, of course, but Bakura wasn't supposed to know that. Kaiba was wearing a cloak like all of them, but, in order to keep his face concealed from Bakura, he was also wearing a white mask under the black cloak. «Terribly cliché if I may say so» Bakura added as an afterthought, with a small smirk.

«Yes...well...» Marik smiled goofily, scratching the back of his head and looking upwards in order to devise a good lie. However, before he had the time to do all this, Bakura tapped his shoulder again «Hey...» he said seriously, and Marik stopped walking immediately, turning to stare at his companion...he hadn't...figured it out...had he?

«Mariku, seriously...I think I should tell you something...» he said, and received a strange look from Ryou, who passed by them. But Bakura ignored it. Instead, he looked at Marik tensely, lips pursing and red eyes becoming darker. Oh now...he was about to explode! He knew! He-

«I think there's something green stuck in your teeth.» he concluded, and Marik erupted almost simultaneously: «It's not like you think I didn't do it on purpose I just knew you really wanted him dead and I...uh...huh?»

«I _said_» Nehti repeated, thin black eyebrow rising in inquiry «I _think_ there's something stuck in your _teeth_.»

«Oh...» Marik started, looking slightly lost «Ohhh» He finally grasped the reality of the situation, and the fact that Bakura had not figured it out after all. His short moment of rest was short-lived, however, since a new upheaval was at hand:

«Stuck in my teeth? Where? Where?» He started saying, making Bakura, who was already walking faster than him, smirk secretly in response.

-

«I can't say I see why I'm the one who should stay and baby-sit you, Wheeler.» Kaiba's clearly irritated voice rang, sounding genuinely annoyed for once, and not just perfunctorily disagreeable.

«Tell me about it» Joey huffed «If it weren't for this huge ship and all the cool gadgets around, then I'd definitely not want to be with you and hear your voice, moneybags! »

«Don't worry, Joey» Yugi's comforting voice, like a melody of blooming flowers, came from the front of the ship. The were located in the bridge, were hundreds of Kaiba's employees, otherwise referred to as 'minions' were commanding a ship unlike any they'd ever seen. Bakura, Marik and the others had just left a while ago, Bakura still being too fascinated –but unwilling to admit it- with all the spaceship abilities, that they'd stayed here for about five and a half hours already. Now, however, Joey, Yugi, Tea and Kaiba were left here- Kaiba having explicitly prohibited Rascal and Mai from entering the Bridge, having seen what they could do- and were the only ones still toggling with the hologram controls, the light speed wheels and the galactic maps that could be found on the ship's bridge.

«So, Kaiba...» Joey started, with an air of pride «Yug and I have perfected our Duel Monsters idea, I've got here some designs for you to look at- since you're a professional jerk and all- and tell me your opinion and stuff. So what do you say?»

Kaiba didn't answer, just kept staring straight ahead, beyond the bridge. Had he not been a droid, is it possible that he could have been visualizing the dissection of Joey Wheeler? «I hear some barking» Kaiba finally said «But I can't really say it's a nice barking.» he concluded.

«Jeez, Kaiba!» Joey half-chuckled and half-glared «That must be the stupidest thing I've heard in..like, my whole life!» he gave the verdict, and Kaiba visibly cringed at the bad grammar, his perfect i/o arranged head unable to withstand the pressure of Joey Wheeler's entirely unmechanic mentality.

«Okay, so listen to this! There's the Red Eyes Black Dragon! » and Joey produced a sketchpad, where there was a rather elegant, elaborate, and not at all crude design of a charcoal monster with ruby eyes. Kaiba did notice it, his mechanic brain programmed to receive as much information as possible. «He's like, one of the super-strong monsters in the game! It's my favourite. And then there's this:» he flipped the page eagerly, producing a design of a silver monster, this time. «The Blue Eyes White Dragon!! He's great, isn't he? Which one do you like best, moneybags?» Seto Kaiba gave no real indication of preference. The only thing he did was, when his eye had perused the «Blue Eyes» for a few moments, he actually turned around and gave the drawing his full, rapt attention, for about more than four seconds. After that, he turned around, walked ahead a few paces, and stared out into the distance.

«They're both stupid.» he concluded, his tone of voice unchanging.

«Cool!» Joey exclaimed «You can have the Blue Eyes, then, 'cause it sucks!» he finished, and apparently found the glare that Seto sent him extremely amusing.

«I'm so glad you like it moneybags! Since you're so excited about it, we'll give you the whole story! We have the whole plot ready, right Yug?»

«Yeah!» Yugi smiled and the necklaces hanging form his waist chimed sweetly «And since Marik and Bakura said 'I want to be the bad guy' then we have our villains cut out! We don't need to disappoint anyone! It's so great!!» The boy said, and Tea egged him on from the side.

«You're right!» Joey followed Tea's example, and smiled maniacally at Kaiba «Ok, Moneybags...you're gonna listen to all the story and we'll hear what you have to say! Let's see if you've ever seen a game so great as the one we'll tell you about!» Joey rubbed his palms together, closing in on Kaiba's back. «At first, there was this boy named Yugi Moto. He was a normal high school kid, living alone with his grandpa until the day he received a strange gift...a Millennium Puzzle...»

Had Kaiba not really been a droid, would that look on his face correspond to desperation?

-

«What are you thinking about?» Bakura asked, as they both stood in front of the huge window, out of which they could see, as clear spheres of light, the seemingly silent planets and comets pass them by. Earth was getting smaller, more obscure by the minute. And Marik was staring down at it, his lavender eyes narrowed, the golden earrings jingling, the platinum hair moving with ethereal light.

«...» he didn't answer, not immediately. Instead something else came to mind...

_«What are you thinking about?» Bakura asked. It was almost morning, and the light from the window of the small storage room had become stronger, albeit not as strong as one might expect from day time. It was always like this in the Catacombs._

_They were laying there, curled against each other, Marik's arms around Bakura in the position of two spoons. The were both turned towards the window, but Bakura's red eyes were fixed not on the light, but on the tanned boy- no, man- over him. Marik's eyes were calm, as though a raging storm had just passed. And suddenly, Bakura was overcome by this illogical fear again, the feat of having been used as nothing but a tool...this time for love and not for hate._

_But as it seemed, Marik hadn't left. And his arms only tightened around Bakura, as though never wishing to let go._

_« I just...» he started saying, and then paused. He turned to look at the man underneath him, blood red eyes and pale skin contrasting deeply with the black locks in the morning, grey-white light. «I just...can't believe...the world is suddenly so three-dimensional. » he explained, turning again to the window and directing Bakura's gaze towards it as well. «In my mind, dreams are always real, but always in two dimensions...something that can't be touched...and my memories are all the same...»_

_«But now...?» Bakura's voice came, not as a human but as a surreal, dreamlike sound. Its innate hoarse quality helped enhance this impression._

_«Now...I can...touch...life.» Marik concluded. And tightened their embrace. Bakura turned around, coming chest-to-chest, face to face with his lover. They stared at each other, savouring the up-close, unguarded view of each other's face._

_«I guess I can touch you...I can see you now...without being afraid you'll melt away...» Marik said, and, as he said it, let his palm caress a cheek and a forehead free of the infamous red bandana. Bakura didn't exactly smile, but, as he looked into his eyes, Marik had the impression that he did._

_When looked at from so close, Bakura's eyes weren't really as red as they were translucent too, three dimensional. The iris was red as blood, all the melanin having been removed. But the core of the eye, the pupil, was translucent as a mirror, clean and sometimes foggy- at times of wrath, perhaps. Underneath it, Marik could see layers and layers of blood-coloured lenses, covering the portal of life. But the mirror-pupil itself had a slightly bluish, translucent colour._

_«Tomorrow we'll be up there» he pointed toward the window «looking down. I won't know what to do.» he warned, and Bakura didn't respond, just kept staring, into those amethyst irises, which, like the planes of the Sahara, still retained a few of their original sky-blue streaks. It appears the intense purple colour of Marik's eyes was a mixture of burnt out- and permanently damaged-, blood cells in the retina- which were red- and of his original blue colour of iris. In this way, when scrutinized from far away, Marik's eyes appeared to have the usual, unexplainably occult colour. But from up close, like Bakura's his eyes were red and blue._

_«I know what I want to do...» Marik concluded quietly, and Bakura kept listening «I want to stay with you in my house, and show you everything about the future...and I want to sleep next to you every night, and I want everything to be quiet...»_

_«But» he continued, and Bakura noticed that his eyes had become slightly moist, and they gleamed strangely as his voice grew scratchy and strained «but there are also the things that I must do. I must relive Kuru Eruna- we must relive it- and we must tell everyone about what happened down there...and we have to stop the Catacombs, stop the Big 5...stop everything...But deep down, I don't want to do any of those things! Now that I have the chance...I just want to stay with you!» he finished, and the space between his eyes had grown red. And for once, Bakura didn't feel like laughing, or smirking, at the face of pain, since he was experiencing it at the same time._

_«All the things they did to hurt you-« Marik said, bending to kiss Bakura's open, willing lips «I want to undo them with these hands, and these lungs.»_

_And they kept silent for a long time after that, just hearing each other breathe. Silently, serenely. And as Bakura drew Marik's head to the crook of his neck, he closed his red eyes, and suddenly remembered the times his mother would read stories at him before he went to bed...or the times his father had wanted to play football together in the back yard...and then of the times he watched all these people die and burn and scream in pain. He shut his eyes closed, smiling. Smiling truly and freely for the first time._

_«Hey...» he started, speaking to himself more than Marik «it's ok. Life has it's ups and downs right? You're just going through the usual post-coital panic attack, Mariku. You probably should have wondered what you would do afterwards before you came to Eruna. But you came, right? So something must have been wrong in the world already...right? There must be some reason why, of all the sleeping corpses in the room, you chose to wake me up, right? So as long as you don't make any more unbelievably cheesy love confessions...I'll just deal with you.»_

Marik just smiled, blinking slowly, feeling the comforting presence right next to him. Then he turned around to greet the other man, seeing him as though for the first time, through the layers of hate, fear and insecurity. Seeing the core.

«We're the same you and I...» Marik said, looking deep into the eyes that were now familiar in their consistent passion. «You know that right?»

Bakura then turned back to see Earth, the familiar and ye so-unfamiliar star becoming smaller and smaller, until from the distance, its amethyst colour resembled Marik's eyes. Could it be the Earth was bleeding too? Could it be they were the ones to heal it? Bakura had no good memories of that place...And yet still...still...

«You know that...right? And you've been hiding it from me.» Marik concluded as he stared at the other, feeling less than young. A hundred thousand million years had passed over his body in the expanse of two months. He was and old man, and yet he was not. He was wiser than before, and yet he was not. He was truer than before, and yet he was not. «I think I've undergone some changes, Bakura.» he stated, in a bit of a comical tone, if Bakura had anything to say about it.

«It's a change for you to realize that, Mariku.» Bakura remarked, in his usual bored, blunt tone.

«Yes...I suppose.» he commented airily «You've undergone changes too. You can talk without homicidal proclamations too, now.»

«I'm quite proud of that.» Bakura answered. «But it took a long time to happen.» he meaningfully looked first at Marik, then at the galaxy, stretching before them. «The world is going to take even more time...Mariku.»

«Well then I guess we'll have to hurry» Marik said, setting his arm around Bakura's shoulders. And then, as he saw the comets fly around them with greater speed, and felt the telltale boost of a ship before it enters a galactic warp, felt the jerk of reality before time is stopped and rewinded, giving you a second chance at life...he smiled.

The End

**I can't believe it. I honestly can't believe I did it! I finished it! I'm simultaneously extremely sad and extremely happy! I didn't want to end, on the one hand, since I enjoyed writing it so much, but on the other hand, I always wanted to see it as a complete novel! It's huge! I wouldn't read it myself, to be honest. It has many drawbacks, but I think it has some strong points as well, as a whole. I'm proud of it! I hope you are too and I honestly hoped you enjoyed reading it! I will be revising it, and changing some parts of the narration in the near future, but the plotline and basic story will all remain as they are.**

**IMPORTANT**

**For anyone who really enjoyed this story , I have a proposal! I thought it would be nice if some reviewers and I worked together to compile a new chapter for this story. I'll explain immediately: since the story has many characters, it is possible that a reviewer's favourite characters in the story are not Marik and Kura, but...say...tea and Kura, instead! Imagine what would happen if each reviewer wrote their own short scene, involving their two or three favourite characters and then sent it to me. Then, once I receive various mini-scenes involving different characters, I can compile a chapter composed of these mini-scenes and add it to the story as a 23rd reviewer-chapter! All your rights shall be copyrighted and disclaimers shall be included, of course, in order to make it clear to other reviewers that this is your work and not mine!**

**To tell you the truth, I'm not so sure this will work, since I'm not very confident that many of my old reviewers are still around! And even if they are here, maybe they didn't like this last chapter enough! But if you are, and you want to keep rewind 1 going just for a little bit longer, then please, send me a small piece of work, in order for us to create a chapter full of the readers' ideas!**

**This is not a competition! I won't be selecting bad and good scenes. There aren't many reviewers for this story anyway, so I won't need to be selective or anything! My only problem is that many people will choose the same characters to write about (f.ex. Marik and Bakura) and not focus on some other interesting combinations. There is a way to solve this: if you felt that a certain character was scorned during the story of rewind 1, you can always write a scene about them. Write a scene about only one character if you want to!**

**Let's set down the rules for these scenes:**

**don't make them more than...1000 words long. This way, we'll keep them long enough to be substantial, but not too long!**

**use up to three of your favourite characters! Try to make some weird combinations (like...Bakura and Rishid, or mai and Yugi) which weren't explored much during the actual story.**

**Use the Rewind 1 AU universe. Don't write about Ancient Egypt, for example. Zork and Priest SETH aren't in this fic, for example, so don't use them unless you plan to refer to Joey's Duel Monster YGO game... You can make the scene as an aftermath to the end of Rewind 1, or as an intervening scene between two other chapters.**

**Your scene can be any genre you choose: it can be humour, gag, parody of Rewind 1 itself, mystery, horror, romance (of course)...it can basically be anything except a lemon (porn). We can't do that, since will throw us out if we upload it. Otherwise, I'd have no problem with that either.**

**If you Really Have to use another pairing except for the ones I've used (Marik/Kura, Serenity/Ryou, Tea/ Yugi) then go ahead and do it! For instance, if you really felt that ...hmm... i don't know, two characters could share a great bond (in the rewind 1 universe) then go ahead! I'd love to see it happen!!**

**Well, this is it! I'm very excited about this! But I'm not sure I'll get any responses! In any case, I hope you all enjoyed reading this story, and I hope everyone will forgive me for not appearing in the net for so long! I hope I hear from all of you! Send me your scenes/ comments/ questions (if you have any) to ****heratsohandarisyahoo.gr**** and I'll answer all of them! I look forward to seeing you in my next fic and I can't wait to hear about your ideas to compile a new reader-based chapter for rewind!**

**Thank you for your help! I hoped you enjoyed it!**

**Nehti**


End file.
